In the top fruit market it is tempting to look back on the 2014/15 season, "At the beginning of the season we were coming out of a time when morale was really low, and then in January the prices suddenly went up, particularly with pears; and in the second half of the season we had some very good prices, whereby we also had incredibly good quality fruit," says Wilbert van Wijk from Vicus Fruit, who runs the business together with his brother, Nico.
A dime more
This season not only started later, but also very different, "Things weren't stable. Over the last three months we all expected, and hoped for, prices that were 10 cents higher. Sales on the domestic market have done well, but export is behind, especially in the East," continues Wilbert. "Now we are in a situation in which no one knows how it will end. We have a lot more fruit than last year around the same time, and many pears do not have the quality to make it all the way to May. Therefore, over the next three months a lot of pears will come onto the market. We hope that demand from export countries picks up, then the price can gradually increase. If this does not happen then some things will have to be forced. But there is a good possibility that prices will increase at the end of the season."
Vicus Fruit focuses on sorting for third parties and selling top fruit. Anton van Wijk, Wilbert and Nico's father, has his own fruit farm, and in 't Goy, Netherlands the family has a modern cold storage facility with 37 refrigerated cells, in which 4 million kg of fruit can be stored, "We are growing steadily and on busy days we can sort out 30 tons of fruit," says Wilbert.
For more information:
Vicus Fruit
Wilbert van Wijk
Beusichemseweg 134a
3997 ML 't Goy
Tel: +31 30 601 26 76
vicus@duurzaamfruit.com