Fruchthof 
Meissen & Co. is able to ripen up to 30,000 boxes of bananas per week, ripening manager from the Priestewitz company, David Bittner, told us. "We are sourcing our bananas from Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and other South American countries. We mainly supply various retail chains and wholesale markets here in Saxony, generally covering the whole of eastern Germany as far as the Baltic Sea. To the west, we supply the Erfurt and Weimar areas," Bittner says.
Demand normalized
In his opinion, demand has normalized. In general, he says, he feels that for many companies, business is rather subdued in the aftermath of Corona. "Customers are now being offered a wide range of products. All types of fruit are available year-round," Bittner notes. Due to the dollar exchange rate, he says, the price of bananas is higher, especially since ripening, freight and labor costs have also increased. The bananas are sold by the colli in 18-kg quantities.
No bottlenecks, great quality
"Weather-wise, it is always very exciting in winter because there is a high risk of storms on the Atlantic. Seasonally, we have to deal with many ship delays," says Bittner. There have been no bottlenecks. On the contrary, supplies have been flowing smoothly, despite the storms in recent weeks. At the moment, there are also no problems regarding qualities, he adds. "The quality is controlled directly at the ports in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg, which is why -ideally- only excellent goods will arrive at our facility."
Ripening chamber from Fruchthof Meissen
Cooperation with Cobana
Together with associated affiliate Cobana & Co. from Hamburg, various orders are fulfilled for German food retailers. "We will work together hand in hand from order to order according to a very well-functioning system, not just regarding bananas, but many other items from overseas as well," Bittner emphasizes. In this context, the company's own logistics and processes are very reliable and represent an advantage over the competition.
In addition to the business with Cobana, Fruchthof Meissen runs its own extensive trading business with fruit and vegetables from Europe. In addition, the company is known on the market as a service provider for logistics and packaging of fruit and vegetables.
For more information:
David Bittner
Fruchthof Meissen GmbH & Co. KG
Priestewitzer Str. 20
01561 Priestewitz
Tel: +49 (0) 35249 730-0
Fax: +49 (0) 35249 730-50
[email protected]
fruchthof.net
