The new top fruit season is about to start. "Our old harvest is completely gone. On Monday we will pick the first Delbare apples and Clapp's pears, followed by Triumphe," says Jos Herman. The grower has independently been taking care of the sales of his own fruit for over 30 years from his shop in Roermond-Zuid and to retail in the neighbouring German Ruhrgebied.
The grower doesn't expect a large harvest. "We weren't affected by hail in Central Limburg like the north and south of the province were, but we did have bad blooming weather. It was very cold during the blooming period in May. The settling was reasonable, but was followed by a heavy moulting. The Delbare apples are of good size, but the colour is lacking."
Jos is therefore not worried about the sales of the first harvest. "We sell a lot domestically and people love the first, fresh apples and pears. I'm not worried about the start, but I am for the rest of the season. The national harvest is big and the prices are under heavy pressure. The profits were also disappointing last season, partially due to the rising costs."
Ruhrgebied in the back garden
"We have nothing to do with Russia. With the Ruhrgebied and its 12 million inhabitants in our back garden we can sell our apples no problem, but the market situation is pulling the price down a bit. A lot of apples on the market result in low prices and I don't see immediate progress. People are trying to enter new markets, but large numbers aren't heading there yet."
"We can't compete with Poland in apples. The price for the old harvest of Jonagold is around 23 cents both here and in Poland and Golden Delicious is 20 cents, but due to the lower labour costs and subsidies they only have half of our cultivation costs. We can still somewhat define ourselves with our own sales of Elstar and Wellant, but the low Jonagold prices and pears also pulled down the price of Elstar and Wellant last season."
Hermans has 20 acres of nature with ponds and flowers
Cherishing bees
Finally, the grower has to say that the agreements between environment organisations and supermarkets are close to his heart. "As growers we are viewed as poisoning the bee population. As if there is a fruit grower who would use substances that harm bees! We need those creatures for pollination! I have ten boxes of bees, and sow extra flowers in my nature area to get more. They should see how well I look after the bees and cherish them!"
The bees are visible in the left photo in the coloured boxes
For more information:
Jos Hermans
Hermans Groenten en Fruit
Oude Roermondseweg 161
6049 AD Herten
info@hermansfruit.nl
www.hermansfruit.nl