With summer and sunshine, it's busy trading for wholesalers. The same goes for Pasquino De Vuyst of hotel and catering wholesaler Square Melon, who also notes that the extreme heat of recent days has had a downside. "Extremes are never good. Since Wednesday evening, it has cooled down a bit, and you could immediately see that Thursday morning was much busier than the days before. Real heat isn't good for business, but now that people can sit outside on terraces again, we're back in action."
© Square Melon
"Besides, it's better for quality," the trader continued. "I received a batch of strawberries on Wednesday, and it wasn't up to standard." Whether this has already led to overproduction in the market, Pasquino isn't sure. "In any case, we didn't notice any changes in prices. There were no major fluctuations; strawberries stayed fairly steady at around 3 euros at auction. But we are seeing this in Belgian vegetables. Cauliflower, celery, leeks, tomatoes, everything is cheap. The large volumes are just too much for the market to absorb."
Stone fruit
When asked about the top performers during this summer period, he doesn't have to think long. "Cherries, of course. The Spanish season was a bit disappointing; there wasn't much supply, and prices were significantly higher than in previous years. Fortunately, we've been getting nice cherries from our regular Belgian grower for the past three weeks. These are also selling steadily at around 6 to 7 euros. We've also got more nice cherries overall, and it's always a short but sweet season. Cherries are really popular among Belgians, a fruit that had somewhat fallen out of favor in recent years, but people are starting to rediscover it. It used to have a bit of a dated image, like something older people would put in gin, but demand is picking up again."
© Square Melon
Other stone fruit is also selling well, according to Pasquino. "Peaches, apricots, nectarines, they're real summer products, of course. We work exclusively with French produce. The Spanish supply has ended, but that's not a problem because, in general, French stone fruit is more highly valued. It's also more expensive, but you can justify the difference. Our customers always go for the French story."
Belgian asparagus in July
One notable product that the Gent-based catering wholesaler is still actively trading is asparagus. Normally, the season ends with St John's Day at the end of June, but Square Melon is still seeing demand. "We work with a grower who harvests several hectares every year, so this year we'll have asparagus until at least 15 July. In some years, it's even gone two weeks longer. It's particularly popular with restaurants that don't want to change their menu until the holiday season. They stretch it out with asparagus for a few extra weeks. It's not massive volumes, but we're still getting daily orders, and the quality is just as good as a few weeks ago. There aren't many thick asparagus spears left, so selling AAA asparagus is tricky, but we're still moving product."
© Square Melon
Gent festivals
Looking ahead to the coming weeks, Pasquino expects things to stay busy. "Of course, some catering businesses close for holidays, but that's offset by customers whose terraces get even busier in summer. July is always a hectic period in Gent because of the Gent Festivities, so it all balances out. We certainly won't be sitting still."
For more information:
Pasquino De Vuyst
Square Melon
At Sint-Jacobs 20/23
9000 Gent, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)9 223 34 16
[email protected]
www.square-melon.be
