Trading is quiet at the moment. "Last week it was too hot, so you immediately noticed things slowing down a bit. Now that temperatures have dropped again, you can see that everyone is gradually slipping into holiday mode. It's the same around this time every year," says Henk Vlaeminck of Van Dijk Foods.
© Van Dijk Foods Belgium
The Flemish importer is currently well into the Spanish stone fruit season. "Here too, we're seeing this sluggishness," the trader continues. "There's limited supply, especially of peaches and nectarines, where shortages were already expected. On top of that, despite the beautiful weather we've had for the past three to four weeks, sales have been somewhat underwhelming. We didn't do badly, but it was ideal stone fruit weather, and yet that hasn't been reflected in the demand."
So what's the reason? "As mentioned, people are focusing on other things. Yes, stone fruit is a bit more expensive than in previous years, but I think it mostly comes down to prioritizing. Life has become quite expensive, and people still want to go on holiday. A single week of holiday for a family costs a lot of money, and most people are going for more than just a week. That takes a big bite out of consumers' budgets, leaving less room for higher-priced fruit."
"In terms of quality, the fruit is holding up, but there's simply less of it. It's been very hot in Spain. They had a rough spring with rain and cold, which damaged a lot of blossoms. Then came several weeks of extreme heat. We thought it was hot here, but in Spain, it topped 40 degrees, and even over 45 degrees between the trees. That's just too hot for the fruit, so production stalled. That said, supply and demand are relatively balanced. So the market is reasonably stable, but overall, activity is low."
Promising Italian grape season
And so, attention is already shifting to the Italian grape season, which has recently begun. "In about two weeks, we expect large volumes, and grapes tend to gain traction faster than stone fruit. Grapes offer more convenience, so consumers will make the switch quickly once high-quality grapes are available again. That will come at the expense of stone fruit, but the outlook is positive. Expectations are high for a strong season, especially for seedless varieties, so we're looking forward to it with optimism."
For more information:
Henk Vlaeminck
Van Dijk Foods
Kempenarestraat 50
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium
Tel: +32 15 55 65 61
[email protected]
www.vandijkfoods.be
