The plum harvest has been underway for some time at B&B Fruit, the country's largest plum grower. "We are currently harvesting the Opal plums. I estimate the yield at around 60%. That's a bit disappointing. The hot weather is slowing down the ripening process," says Marinus Bunt. "Fortunately, the later varieties are all developing well."
And it is precisely those later varieties that are a key focus for the grower. "We have 20,000 trees to plant, all for the late segment. During the COVID period, demand was high even in mid-summer, but now that more people are going on holiday again, sales drop off for a few weeks. From late August to early September, demand picks up again. Our goal is to remain on the market for a longer period. We see growing demand in the late season and want to be available until the end of October."
© B&B Fruit
That goal, however, is no easy task. "We've searched the world, but it's still difficult to find an early variety with the quality of Opal. It remains one of the tastiest plums on the market, although it's a troublesome variety for growers, too small and too low-yielding. That's why we're actively looking for a new, larger early variety."
"With the current harvest, it's a real struggle to serve our customers properly. Demand is high, and the weather is perfect for plums, but we're barely managing to meet the needs of our regular customers. Hopefully, the situation will improve by the end of the week. Then we'll start seeing more Opals and also blue varieties like Jubilee coming onto the market—these offer slightly larger volumes," says Marinus.
© B&B Fruit
"Plum prices are currently strong. We agree on annual prices with our main customers. Right now, day trade prices are even around 4 to 5 euros per kilo," Marinus says. Even in Poland, where B&B Fruit mainly grows for the local market, the plum trees are full. "The harvest varies considerably by region, but even there we're able to meet demand well."
The domestic market remains by far the largest outlet for B&B Fruit's plums. "Our exports make up just 5–10% of sales. The very large plums go to Switzerland, and many medium-sized ones head to Scandinavian countries, though we usually only supply there for a few weeks if our own harvest isn't sufficient."
Marinus and Frederik Bunt
The grower is strongly committed to automation. In 2021, B&B opened a new 2,000 m² sorting and packing station in Herveld with a new stone fruit sorter that also automatically grades for quality. This year, the plum grower expanded its setup with a top-seal machine from Het Packhuys and a sticker machine from De Koningh, allowing it to deliver retail-ready plums in-house for the first time. The latest investment is an electric harvester, specially adapted for B&B's plum cultivation. "It runs entirely on batteries. We'll start test runs at the end of July," Marinus concludes.
For more information:
Marinus Bunt
B&B Fruit
Schoolstraat 2
6674 AK Herveld
+31 (0)6 225 28 117
[email protected]
www.benbfruit.nl
