Picking hard fruits is now taking place in full force. Based on an initial assessment, Marius van Arkel of the packing facility that has the same name, states that Conference pear harvest was 5-10% lower than the estimates. “And there was no way to get an extremely high estimation. Therefore, we’ll all be faced with less harvest than we have seen in the recent past. In addition, Conference has some hail damages in the tree. The tree’s damage is usually not at all, but when you get it all sorted out, the damage may be more serious than originally believed. It is important to be able to deal with it this time around,” Marius continues.

“The Elstar harvest is also less. I believe the taste that is produced by Elstar the year ahead is amazing. Its flavor is excellent as is the texture, firmness and the overall size is pleasing. It is true that consumer tastes are changing over the last few years. They have dropped by about 5 millimeters. There is no longer a need for the 80’s. Apples are still a popular snack but big ones aren’t simple to consume. Also, the cost of fruit is also a factor in this. The good thing is that apples are sized perfectly today.”

Marius isn’t dissatisfied by the market’s demand. “Because we’re able to provide delicious fresh fruit in a matter of minutes, there is a demand for both Conference as well as Elstar is high and you notice that people have been buying repeatedly and that’s the thing we need to count on. It seems like the fruit is priced right at the grocery stores. In the past there were discounts of 70 cents per pound for the fresh crop. This isn’t necessary. There are times when stores kept their apples in its distribution center for a long time and at one point you were required to work trying to bring in all the items and then there was no demand. Fair prices that keep the sales up is more beneficial for all.”

Fruit Station van Arkel sells about 15 million pounds of fruit each year, one three-quarters of it is cultivated in-house. “Quite much of the fruits were sold off the forest this year, and at a reasonable price. Elstar and Conference were sold by the wood for prices of between 65-72 cents. However, the cost of Jonagold apples was a bit lower than the price. However, I insist that farmers also require these prices in order to fund their investments. It’s still a lot of manually-operated and is becoming costlier,” Marius concludes. “All is said and done it appears that the forecast for this season is optimistic. However, I would like to see that it cools down a bit but when temperatures exceed 25 degrees the forecast is painful for those who pick.”

For more information:

Marius van Arkel

Fruit station Van Arkel

Tel: +31 (0)6 22 94 04 13

[email protected]

www.fruitstationvanarkel.nl