As in other years, the citrus season of the established Süsse Susi brand began in the second week of October with the two clementine varieties Oronules and Arrufatina. The early varieties of Satsumas/Okitsu, which are already available in September, are not offered under this brand by the marketer Wirth & Co. "Initial forecasts for oranges indicated that the harvest would be roughly the same as last year. For clementines, however, particularly Clemenules, the talk was of a significantly smaller harvest than in the previous year. This is because, similar to previous years, the Spanish citrus industry struggled with insufficient rainfall and high temperatures during the summer," explains Rolf Krauter, managing director of the company based at the Stuttgart wholesale market.
"The devastating environmental disaster at the end of October in the Valencia region came as a complete surprise to all of us. Especially in the Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja area, important growing areas were partially or completely destroyed. Fortunately, other nearby areas were spared," Krauter continues. Overall, a significant portion of the citrus and persimmon production fell victim to the flood. "However, the personal tragedies of many families who have lost loved ones in this environmental disaster affect us much more deeply. Each of us has friends, acquaintances, or family who have been directly or indirectly affected."
Oranges and clementines.
Early change of variety for clementines
Nevertheless, the effects on the quantity were not too serious, continues Krauter. "There were quality problems, mainly with the Clemenules variety. Due to the heavy rains, there were many puffy and soft fruits. In the weeks following the disaster, we were not so much concerned about possible supply bottlenecks as about the problems in the area of transport due to closed and destroyed roads."
The switch to the Clemenvillas variety for clementines was made relatively early on to avoid issues in the trade. Krauter: "We will continue to offer these for some customers until mid/end January. For other traders, we switched to the Nadorcott and Tango varieties at the beginning of January, which are currently being very well received in terms of quality, coloring, and taste. Meanwhile, we are seeing sufficient availability of the current main variety of oranges, Navelinas, which is also of good quality. From mid-January, we expect to switch to Navel, followed by Lane Late from the beginning of February. We expect to be able to continue to offer our customers very good quality with the remaining late varieties as the season progresses."
Upward trend across the entire brand portfolio
The management of the Stuttgart-based company describes the current demand for all citrus fruits under the Süsse Susi brand (oranges, clementines with and without leaves) as very encouraging. "If you meet the quality criteria and carefully inspect and select the products, you can market branded goods at slightly higher prices," emphasizes Krauter. "We now also offer clementines and oranges under the Süsse Susi brand and are very satisfied with how things have gone so far. However, the majority of the produce is still sold in the classic 1kg Girsack packaging, which has made the Süsse Susi brand famous over the past 40 years."
Leaf clementines in the wooden crate.
An upward trend is evident in almost all products sold under the traditional brand. "Leaf clementines are selling very well and are becoming increasingly popular. The same applies to the entire stone fruit portfolio: in the past stone fruit season, we were able to increase sales of all products, i.e. nectarines, peaches, paraguayos, and apricots under the Süsse Susi brand. Consistent focus on quality is, of course, important here!"
The fruit wholesaler Wirth & Co. has been based at the local wholesale market in Stuttgart for many years.
Expansion of the procurement network
The goal for the coming season is to further expand sales and awareness of the Süsse Susi brand. "Accordingly, we would like to make the brand better known both regionally and nationally, and thus reach a broader customer base. We also want to ensure that our main products, oranges, and clementines, are available all year round by expanding our procurement network to include other countries of origin. It goes without saying that we will treat these products with the same care as our Spanish products," concludes Krauter.
Photo credit: Wirth & Co GmbH
For more information:
Rolf Krauter
Wirth & Co GmbH
Stuttgart Wholesale Market
Tel: +49 0711 486048 0
Fax:: +49 0711 486048 58
[email protected]
https://www.diesuessesusi.de/