The supply decreased by 7% compared to 2010. The turnover from fruit sales also decreased, by 1%. This indicates a higher median price for the whole supply, 6% higher. The two factors that are important for the income of the growers - supply and turnover - decreased. Bad news for the growers as well as the auction. Haspengouw Auction closes 2011 with a loss of 1,602,000 EUR. This result has two causes. The first is the aftermath of the "Pukkelpopstorm", a huge storm which caused devastation at Belgian pop concert last summer, and the hail storms that followed. They led to underutilisation in the cooling houses and pressure on the margin, partially also a cause of the decreasing market. The other cause is the accounting in 2010 of value decreases on claims compared to a subsidiary, a result of restructuring. Both causes are not structural.
Kanzi positive
2011 was a bad year, mainly as a result of the second half of the year, at the start of the 2011-2012 season. From the start in September the price kept declining. One of the classics in the year evaluation is the positive exception of Kanzi. For a number of years in a row this young brand has been making all its inherent promises come true. Kanzi is once again the only apple which hasn't been subjected to this negative price evolution.The total fruit supply to Haspengouw Auction from 2011 was 109,000 tonnes, a decrease compared to the last accounting year. The turnover from sales of fruit was 64 million EUR in 2011, compared to 65 million EUR in 2010. An accounting year at Haspengouw Auction also always has parts of two different seasons. The accounting year 2011 has the second part of the season 2010-2011 and the first part of the season 2011-2012. This can lead to two completely different semesters in an accounting year. The financial year 2011 was characterized by a good first semester and a terrible second semester, where a lot of empty spots in the cooling installations were noted.
The strawberry season had an increase of 22% in supply in 2011. The value of sold strawberries, however, decreased (-9%) because the median price per kg was 28% lower. The cherry season had 7% more supply with an increased average price (+13%). We can say that it was another good cherry season.
The average price of the cherries increased by 93%, so that the turnover from cherry sales, despite a decreased supply, increased by 51%. The total turnover value of cherries was 680,000 EUR in 2011, compared to only 450,000 EUR in 2010. But this is still only a fraction of the good old cherry years, and this cultivation remains under pressure.
For the apples, the supply decreased by 5%. The decrease for apples for the fresh market even fell by 17%. Together with an increased average price (mainly in the first semester), this caused an increase of the turnover from the sales of apples of 14% to a sum of 29 million EUR compared to 25,5 million EUR in 2010. Kanzi also turned out to be a positive peak between the apple varieties.
The fruit value decreased by 19% due to a decrease in supply (-14%) and a decrease in average price (-6%). The fruit value in 2011 was 22.6 million Euro compared to 27.9 million Euro in 2010. For the first time the pear are joining the slump in a bad market.
The berry supply increased slightly by 4% and due to the better average price of +14% (+0.90 EUR/kg) the turnover of the sales of berries increased by 18%. The investments in 2011 were once again mainly replacement investments (terrain hardening, replacements investment buildings and ULO cooling spaces) and packaging materials such as reusable boxes and pallets.
A notable investments of Haspengouw Auction, is these hail nets. As was shown last year, large scale hail damage can lead to lower quantity and quality. Due to the chain integration this ultimately leads to consequences further along in the chain: not using cooling, sorting, and packaging capacity.
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