Last week's heavy rainfall in Belgium, especially West Flanders, slowed wholesale trade for a while. Despite that, Ellen Sebrechts of Sebrechts Groenten & Fruit says this week the festive season is increasingly important in year-end sales. "The shift has really started. High-end butchers are already preparing for Christmas, and with St. Nicholas approaching, clementine demand is climbing," she begins.
"It's a little tricky because demand for winter items has truly taken off. It's a fun season for us with great products. But since last week, it's been genuinely dramatic with all the rain. Sales came to a complete stop early last week. That gradually improved towards the weekend, but at the beginning of this week, there were almost no sales again. Bad weather has a powerful influence; it determines sales."
Clementines for St Nicholas
Yet, Ellen, who runs the family wholesaler with her sister and husband, notices her customers are beginning to prepare for the festive season. "Preparations for particularly St Nicholas are starting in earnest. We're betting on that with social media actions and special jute packaging with clementines. And, of course, confectionary like marzipan with or without chocolate and candy. Plus nuts and dried fruit. We've set up our warehouse accordingly and see an especially high clementines demand around this time of year," she says.
Ellen says this popularity keeps rising unabated despite the current high prices. "All fruits and vegetables are expensive. That started last year because of increased costs in things like packaging and transportation. They didn't drop after that. You'd think it's reaching its peak, but other countries are paying those prices, so we'll have to, too. Grapes are very pricey, but citrus, too, has started more expensive than other years."
Pricey citrus
"The Spanish season is genuinely starting to get underway now. However, many people kept wanting the South African product because they were even tastier. Everyone wants to be first with their products, but that sometimes comes at quality's expense. The best Spanish clementines often don't arrive until after St. Nicholas, but in the weeks before, demand peaks. Then it becomes either a run on the last South African product or looking for quality among the Spanish clementines," says Ellen.
Besides clementines, the wholesaler started selling Spanish Clemenules this week. "Oronules are slowly reaching their end, but Clemenules are increasingly arriving. That's also true of oranges, by the way, which taste remarkably good. This year's South Africa season seems to be flowing relatively nicely into the Spanish one. Still, prices are quite high for the time of year."
Specialties
"People seem to have, by now, come to terms with these prices. We used to get some comments about it, but in the segment we mainly serve, consumers would rather spend a little more on good quality than still quite a lot on an inferior quality product. 
Everyone has busy social and business lives these days," says Sebrechts.
"Even though the market shifts daily, many shop once a week. Then they must have a good product that can also be kept all week. People then dare to pay slightly more."
The same goes for the specialties, of which Sebrechts Groenten & Fruit sells more as Christmas approaches. "As I said, higher-end butchers have already started preparing for the festive season," Ellen explains. "It's 'game season', with small wild apples and pears, forest and wild mushrooms from places like France and Romania."
"These are all alternative products that are presently running very well. They're products that elevate people's dishes. There are also wild and American cranberries, greenhouse cabbages, root vegetables, and French tomatoes. We work a lot with French kiwis, too. They've transitioned from the New Zealand to the Italian season, but, based on flavor, we still prefer the French ones. It's a bit more of a niche, but very popular among our customers," Ellen concludes.
For more information:
Ellen Sebrechts
Sebrechts Groenten & Fruit
4 Kielsbroek
2020, Antwerp, BE
Tel: +32 (0) 323 74 192
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sebrechtsfruit.be