The start of the new Polish apple season is coming up fast, as harvest for early varieties has already started, says Jakub Krawczyk, export manager for Polish apple exporter Appolonia: "We are slowly starting with summer varieties of apples, but we will start the full harvest by the end of August, or the start of September. The prospect at the moment is that there could be fewer Jonagold apples and they will be of a bigger calibre, generally. There could also be some less good quality of Gala, due to the frost damage, but since these damages are not found all over the country, it's hard to predict how much damage there is in total, before the actual harvest begins. I think customers should be prepared to accept a little more russeting on Gala than usual this season. Other varieties like Golden Delicious look okay, so far. There was some hail, and some farms were affected by it, so this will also be something we need to have in mind."
At the moment, demand is slow as there is simply no stock suitable for the export of apples, Krawczyk explains. "The season for last year's apples has finished; the only quantities that are left in stock are destined for the domestic markets. As such, the demand for Polish apples is rather low. However, in a week or two, we will start harvesting Gala Schnico Red, and then start with other varieties. This means we'll have a lot to do in the orchards, right up until the end of October. But the previous export season lasted for a long time, and many clients were happy our window of being able to deliver was as long as it was."
Krawczyk expects opportunities for selling apples to the processing industry, although Appolonia will keep its focus on exporting their apples: "There could be good volumes of apples for peeling or processing, so it's a good idea to refresh all the contacts with companies that need that type of product. Of course, our main goal is not to sell our apples to the processing industry, but to keep our 1st class apples line with customers who invested in our brand in the past. I think that last season, despite some small difficulties, we have done pretty well as a supplier and we're hoping that the upcoming season will be even better."
"I'm sure that the transit time to Asia will be long again, as there is still no peace in the Red Sea region, so ships will sail around the African continent, and we need to be prepared for that. Other conflicts are also negatively affecting our business. This season, we also plan to work more on pre-payments up-front, as the model of buying apples in Poland is shifting, and we need to pay growers faster or even immediately. This means our receivers need to be informed that we can't ship too much on credit," Krawczyk concludes.
For more information:
Jakub Krawczyk
Appolonia
Tel: +48 785 342 930
Email: [email protected]
www.appolonia.pl
