Less availability; higher prices
"There are less asparagus available from Peru, and Belgium and the Netherlands are running a few weeks later due to the cold weather. Less beans are also coming from Kenya at the moment too. This is due to the turbulent situation within the country. The elections were fourteen days ago and almost nothing is being sent out of Nairobi because of tensions. As a result, less availability means that the pricing is at a higher level. Belgian asparagus are already fetching 9 Euro for a half a kilo and I expect that Peruvian will also rise as a result. The demand for asparagus in Germany is also high."
Fruit
"When it comes to fruit in general, there is currently demand for oranges, strawberries, kiwi's and mango's. Consumers are not very quick to demand specific exotics. The tendency is that people eat less exotics and more of the "regular" types of fruit. Another trend has been noticeable with fruit: when it comes to apples, the older races are not being consumed as often and people are going more for brands such as Pink Lady of Jazz. One is at the expense of another. Another trend is that there is less demand for grapes with a pit. Consumers prefer seedless grapes, and varieties like Lavallée are on their way out. Demand for seedless grapes has seen a huge increase in the past few years. Yet we still see we are behind in this trend. A country like England hasn't consumed grapes with pits in years."
"The best selling products at Exofi at the moment are imported vegetables: extra fine beans from Kenya, pods from Egypt and Guatemala, white and green asparagus from Peru, green asparagus tips from Thailand and Peru, avocado from Israel, sweet potatoes from USA, bobby beans from Egypt and wild mushrooms (beech mushroom, eringi, shi-take, champignons de Paris). The demand in fruits and exotics is for Peruvian Kent mango (flown in), French kiwi, papaya Formosa, pineapples from Ghana, seedless grapes from Chile, limes from Mexico and Brazil and passion fruit from Colombia and Zimbabwe."
For more information:
Jan Vermeiren
Exofi Fresh Market BVBA
Werkhuizenkaai 112, mag.25-26
B-100 Brussel
Tel: +32 2 243.12.49
GSM: + 32 475 86.09.80
[email protected]
www.exofi.be
