In the shadow of the mass-produced goods from Spain as well as Turkey, Egypt and Italy, clementines and oranges from Morocco are being shipped to Germany during the cold season. "We have had to source the bulk of our citrus via Perpignan until now. In particular, the early clementines, which we have traded from November until now, are particularly highly priced, at 40 percent above last year's levels," says Krino Röben, one of a few Morocco specialists on the German market and managing director of Fruchtversand 24. After the first batch is sold, we will continue with Nour, followed by Nadorcott, which can usually be traded until the end of March-beginning of April.
As far as oranges are concerned, a weak supply situation is emerging so far, Röben continues. "Moroccan navel oranges are difficult to get at the moment. In the longer term, demand from German consumers tends to shift toward Navel Late and Salustiana. Moroccan Navel oranges are becoming less and less prominent."
In general, this year's marketing season is developing rather sluggishly, according to Röben. "There are only limited quantities available and the quality also leaves much to be desired. Particularly in the case of clementines, the shelf life of the available product is extremely weak, in other words, there's hardly a crate that doesn't have spoilage in it."
© Fruchtversand24
Rounding out the company's citrus assortment are grapefruits from Florida. "Due to the limited quantity availability, we had originally completely refrained from doing so. Now we are getting some merchandise, but in very limited quantities and at very high prices. However, the merchandise so far is evidence of high quality and has hardly any shell defects. Considering the fact that Florida grapefruits are about twice as expensive as Turkish and Spanish goods in sales, the demand is unfortunately very manageable. This high price level is, in turn, due to the dollar exchange rate, which has a negative impact on imports from the U.S."
In the longer term, the trend for premium citrus is shifting downward, said Röben, who mainly supplies private customers in Germany and Austria. "There are only a few suppliers left who deal with these products on a larger scale. Apart from isolated remnants, the product has not been found in food retail for years, and it is also becoming increasingly difficult to offer the products at affordable prices in the mail order business. In this respect, I am very concerned about the future of this product line."
For more information:
Krino Röben
Fruchtversand24
Kirchdorfer Str. 177
D-26605 Aurich
Tel.: +49 (0)4941-9737 904
Fax: +49 (0)4941-998 934
[email protected]
https://www.fruchtversand24.de/
