“It sounds very surprising - year-round Brazilian melons - but our permanent partner Agricola Famosa has been growing melons throughout the year for some time," says Leon van den Hombergh of Frankort & Koning.
"With the cultivation areas expanding, it's quickly becoming easier and less risky to supply melons from Brazil to our European customers over a longer period."
"We work closely with Agricola and are discussing how to roll this out in the next season. We've been the largest sales office on the European continent for years," Leon explains.
"Just as Melon & Co is for the English market. And that works very well. We can meet clients' production needs while the chain stays completely transparent. Nowadays, we're also increasingly a logistical extension to serve buyers optimally."
"By using self-chartered ships, we have an increasingly better grip on the logistics process, too, which benefits our service level. Thanks to the greatly improved cultivation methods and innovations in variety choices, the average less than 14 days transit time is also no longer a problem. Also, in Europe, melon growing presents noticeably more challenges every year, so Brazil offers a good, reliable alternative over a longer and longer period. Who knows, we might start seeing that alternative on European shelves all year," Leon concludes.
For more information:
Leon van den Hombergh
Frankort & Koning
Tel: +31 (0) 773 897 202
Mob: +31 (0) 651 238 770
Email: l.vdhombergh@frankort.nl
Website: www.frankort.nl