The first pallets of Calinda strawberries arrived last week at Special Fruit. The new year traditionally marks the start of this premium variety with the Belgian importer. “The situation is very good. The quality is excellent and we are already seeing market demand for good quality, aromatic Spanish strawberries,” says Polina Valkanova of Special Fruit.
The company’s import season began in November with the first arrivals from Morocco and air freight from Egypt. “We are satisfied with the evolution of the situation. The quality of both origins was good in November and December, which contributed to the success of Christmas and end-of-year promotions. As the Spanish season has started, we continue to import Moroccan strawberries for a while, with the best varieties, such as Leticia, Victory and Palmeritas. Our intention is to continue until the quality no longer meets the demands of our retail customers. We hope it will be at least as late as last year, when we only sold our last Moroccan strawberries in week 14.”
Good demand despite high Egyptian sea freight prices
Since last week, attention has focused on supplies from Spain. “We received the first pallets from the producers who planted the earliest. Starting this week, all our Calinda growers will harvest their first volumes, after which we expect daily arrivals. In addition, the first kilos of Bachata, our new premium variety, are being harvested. »
In terms of quality, Valkanova is satisfied. “Thanks to the favorable weather conditions in Huelva, the quality of the first Spanish strawberries is excellent. The earliest varieties confirm their quality from the first weeks. » Even the disaster at the end of October could not put a spoke in the wheels of Special Fruit producers. “Although it took place not far from our production areas, producers fortunately did not suffer any damage from the flooding. »
“Overall, expectations remain very positive. » Special Fruit’s main markets for its Spanish strawberries are Scandinavia, the Baltics and the Benelux. “The climate, influenced by La Niña, should guarantee a stable and warm winter in Huelva, so we expect a stress-free production curve. Furthermore, the demand is already there. Egyptian volumes are still offered to the market via sea freight at very competitive prices, but we find that many retailers are opting for Spanish strawberries due to their consistently high quality. We expect demand to increase further in the coming weeks with the first promotions in European supermarkets. »
For more information:
Polina Valkanova
Special Fruit
Such. : +32 33170660
[email protected]
www.specialfruit.be
