“When it was warm, things were going really well. Sales were good, product quality was good, and demand was strong. But when the weather suddenly changed, everything came to a complete standstill,” says Henk Vlaeminck of Van Dijk Foods.

Products that are particularly dependent on summer temperatures are feeling the impact. “Cherries, stone fruit, anything that is truly summer fruit, is under pressure at the moment. People are being cautious. The weather forecasts initially looked excellent, but that has all faded somewhat. Consumers prefer to wait and see.”

Pressure on prices
The drop in demand is also putting pressure on prices in parts of the market. According to Henk, this is creating a growing distinction between different quality levels. “At the moment, everything is available on the market. Good quality, lower quality, attractive fruit, less attractive fruit. The really good products are still maintaining their prices reasonably well. Spain is also trying to support those prices. But standard-quality fruit is under considerable pressure, and prices have fallen sharply.”

According to him, this applies to virtually all stone fruit. “You see the same pattern with peaches, nectarines, and apricots. Only plums seem to be the exception. We are hearing from Spain, and to some extent from France, that production this year may be 20 to 30 per cent lower. As a result, plums are currently under slightly less pressure than other stone fruits.”

Everything depends on the weather
The coming weeks will largely determine how the market develops. In Spain, temperatures remain high, meaning the fruit continues to ripen and must be harvested. “It is currently extremely hot in Spain. The fruit is still on the trees, but it cannot be left there indefinitely. It has to be picked. If consumption here then lags due to the cooler weather, that will naturally put even more pressure on the market.”

The trader is therefore focusing primarily on the weather forecasts here. “If temperatures reach 22 to 23 degrees with dry, sunny weather, conditions should improve quickly. We remain positive and hope the weather cooperates.”

Local cherries
Does the trader expect additional competition from local cherries? The Belgian and Dutch cherry seasons are, after all, about to begin. “We expect the first good Belgian varieties from next week onwards. Our Spanish cherries will then, of course, face competition. So far, we have not been affected much by this, but that will change in the coming weeks.”

Due to the changeable weather conditions, many growers no longer intend to wait until the fruit is sufficiently ripe. “With the weather approaching, many growers will start harvesting as soon as possible. They want to secure their crop and avoid taking unnecessary risks, so there will certainly be plenty of fruit on the market. We will have to wait and see what effect that has on sales, but I still expect there will be a market for Spanish cherries.”

According to Henk, it is precisely the limited shelf life of summer fruit that makes it particularly sensitive to market fluctuations. “With citrus, you can manage and speculate a little more. That product is less sensitive. But with stone fruit and cherries, it is different. That fruit does not improve by spending more time in cold storage. It needs to be sold as quickly as possible. That is why the weather remains the determining factor for market developments in the coming weeks. As is almost always the case in this sector, everything depends on the weather. Summer fruit is simply more sensitive to it than many other products.”

Source: Fresh Plaza