Thanks to good growing conditions, volumes of Joya apples were up and quality was reported as excellent. Promising consumer demand throughout the season was also reported.The marketing season for Joya, which began in February and will continue through July, was a success in several ways, said Ioanis Fotiadis of BVL Angers. Fotiadis handles European sales of Joya apples, and he noted that one of the ways this season was a success was in terms of volume.
"We saw an increase of 15 percent over expected volumes," he said. "That was a consequence of good weather conditions." That increase resulted in 5,500 tons of total production this year. Coloration of fruit and overall quality were also helped by the weather, he added, as well as sizing of fruit.
"We had a high concentration of big sizes, around 75 and 80, but that was a result of exceptional growing conditions last summer," he said.
Large sizes, however, also brought some complications as too much large-sized fruit is often hard to sell, said Albert Marcellin of Cardell Export. But aside from that, he noted that consumer interest was very good.
"We had increased interest over last year," he said. He noted that part of the reason for that interest may come from their status as another option to fruit from the Southern Hemisphere. The majority of Joya's fruit went to Germany, France, Great Britain and Scandinavian countries, in that order.
Fotiadis sees this year's good results as encouraging signs, and he hopes they can build on that going forward.
"For the moment, demand is stable," he said. "But expectations are good and sales should accelerate in the coming days."
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