This year's Spanish stone fruit season did not go well, says Paul van Groningen van Greenfood Iberica. "It was hard to plan ahead, which made it very difficult to fill out programs. That resulted in last-minute day trading."
"The low availability means grower prices weren't always in line with the prices retailers charge. So, for us as traders, it wasn't an easy stone fruit season. The cherries did run pretty well overall. These were excellent quality."
"Peaches and nectarines will still be available until late August / early September. But there will be some holes in the supply. We have flat peaches for about four more weeks. We haven't had apricots for a few weeks. Plums are readily available, though," says Paul.
"Nevertheless, I'm not generally entirely dissatisfied. We sold considerably lower volumes than in other years, but the overall quality was good. We mainly have melons now and are busy preparing for the winter season, which can be challenging too."
"It's also almost time for the Spanish walnut season," adds Paul, who visited a grower recently. "We're preparing the season for winter. The trees are in good shape and full of nuts. We expect a good harvest, And with the current dollar/euro exchange rate, the European product, which has significantly better quality than the US imported walnuts, quickly becomes more interesting," he concludes.
For more information:
Paul van Groningen
GreenFood Iberica
C/Avda.Catalunya,
33-35 I 17253 Mont-ras (Girona)
Catalonia, Spain
Tel: +34 (0) 972 667 216
Email: paul@greenfoodiberica.es
Website: www.greenfoodiberica.es