"Netherlands: "Prices Doyenné du Comice vary from 0.75 to 1.25 Euro"

Due to the limited supply on offer, the sales of top fruit are going well. According to dealer Erik Kieftenburg of Fruit-Noordholland the quality varies, and so do the prices. "There are, for instance, varieties of the Doyenné du Comice pear that aren't doing so well, but the smooth variety is performing just fine. The top price right now is 1.20 Euro. Lesser varieties go for 75 cents."

"Conference pears are also doing good business, abroad as well as domestically," says Erik. "There is a nice steady demand from Germany. In spite of the extreme weather last winter the quality of the crop is quite decent. It's just that the volume of the crop was a disappointment. In places it was just 60% of what we're used to."

Erik expects the price ranges to be stable, for pears as well as for apples. "The Elstar is doing well. Germany's harvest wasn't that great either, which we notice looking at the prices the Fuji's are fetching. In fact, the only country that had a halfway decent crop was Poland. But they are mostly supplying Russia."