The apple remains Germany's most popular fruit, as evidenced by both annual harvest and sales volumes. Since the end of the 1990s, club varieties have established themselves on the market and also enjoy lively interest. With the club variety KIKU®, SALEM-Frucht & Co. started 15 years ago with the club variety KIKU®. Bernhard Fuchs told us how this and other varieties are developing.
Image: SALEM-Frucht
Development of the club varieties
"We start marketing KIKU towards the end of October/beginning of November. We did not have any major failures with this brand variety this year, as it withstood adversities such as frost, heat and wet periods very well. We continue to see very good demand for both KIKU and EVELINA®." Harvest of the branded variety SWING® Xeleven is also starting these days, and the dark red variety Sweetheart® is also doing well, he added.
Good harvest with excellent taste
"Many hours of sunshine and timely rainfall have allowed the Lake Constance fruit to ripen earlier than normal," says Fuchs. "The variety spectrum will change in the coming years. For some time now, resistant varieties have been tested which manage with little crop protection and also cope with climate change."
"Overall, however, we expect a good harvest with apples of excellent taste. The heat has also taken its toll, but the losses are manageable," Fuchs says. "After a cold and wet 2021 with smaller fruit, the calibers tend to be bigger this year. Oversizes are going to the industry as peel or juice." SALEM-Frucht does not offer organic apples. These are marketed centrally at Lake Constance.
In the snack apple segment, the company offers the Isaaq variety, although the cultivation share is extremely low, he said. Increasing sales volumes are usually expected from October/November. According to Fuchs, the rising costs are not yet reflected in the price. Says Fuchs, "Other European countries also had a good crop this year, and they are pushing into the market." Some uncertainty, especially in pricing, can be heard across the board, he said. "You can tell that many consumers are cutting back, especially on food," Fuchs concludes.
Image: SALEM Fruit
For more information:
Bernhard Fuchs
SALEM-Frucht GmbH & Co. KG
Alte Neufracher Straße 100
88682 Salem
Tel: +49 7553 – 8270 -10
Fax: +49 7553 – 8270 -30
info@salem-frucht.com
https://www.salemfrucht-gmbh.de