The heavy rainfall in Spain meant, among other things, that the water content of the fruit was so high that it arrived in Germany partly ripe to overripe and rotted more quickly, as Philipp Lang, managing director of Früchte Lang from Hengersberg, tells us. "This disadvantage is unusual at the start of the season because the fruits are normally harvested still unripe in order to be able to start selling as soon as possible. In this respect, the fruits should still be firm at this time, which was not the case." The wholesaler is currently offering apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums from Spain.

"Although the quality left a lot to be desired, the price for the plums was quite high, which is not untypical for the start of the season. What was unusual, however, was that apricots and peaches were significantly cheaper than nectarines, even though nectarines are usually more popular. So far, no producer has been able to explain the reason for this."

Seasonally, demand is correspondingly high, he said. "The last few weeks were hot, which is why demand was very high and especially fruits with a high water content, such as melons, were in great demand. At the moment, however, sales are stagnating again. As soon as the temperatures drop to 20 to 22 degrees, demand also drops slightly." In wholesale, Lang sells colli nectarines and peaches in 4kg units, while he markets apricots and plums in 5kg units. "But there are also larger containers, with the latter being the most common units."

High interest in fruit baskets
For some time now, the ten-person company has also been supplying various companies in the vicinity with fruit baskets in which the stone fruits are sold loose and can be individually filled. The interest in the fruit baskets is very high. "The shortage of skilled workers and employees has been a major problem for some time. In order to keep their employees, companies also want to provide them with appealing 'benefits', which include free fruit and free coffee. In fact, it has become almost mandatory. The feedback for the fruit baskets has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Employees are more motivated both because of the vitamins, but because of the gesture behind it."

Declining purchasing power
"Consumer purchasing power seems to be at a low point," Lang suspects. "It could even get worse. Since the government plans to raise the minimum wage further, costs are also likely to rise further. Of course, wages are too low compared to current costs. In my opinion, however, we should find alternative solutions and not just raise wages, because prices will continue to rise as a result. And that is precisely what we want to counteract."

Due to the given situation, the sales figures are not yet comparable to the pre-Covid period, he said. "When there is high demand, the price is also correspondingly lower. So the high prices are either due to low demand or because someone thinks they have to skim off more now."

Lang's company still regularly frequented the wholesale market in Munich until autumn 2022. However, the unsatisfactory prices, qualities and lack of flexibility, as well as other reasons, led him to stop buying products from the wholesale market.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com