Polish traders hope that winter will bring better prices
With Polish apples prices the highest they have been in 10 years, Kornelia Lewikowska from Greenbest…With Polish apples prices the highest they have been in 10 years, Kornelia Lewikowska from Greenbest said that it makes export extremely difficult.
"The apple export season started in October, and prices have been rather stable from the beginning, only fluctuating slightly. I haven't noticed a shortage of any one variety, and the quality of everything we have been receiving is good. Many of our customers prefer Polish apples, especially for their taste and aroma," Kornelia said.
Greenbest works directly with growers and does not have its own production, which Kornelia said, gives them the opportunity to source all varieties which are available around Poland.
Their main export destinations are within the EU, mainly Denmark, France, Estonia and Holland, but they also starting exporting to Dubai as of two years ago.
"Exporting to such distant countries as Dubai is more complicated than exporting fruits to the European Union, so it is still done at a small scale at the moment,"
Dramatic year for Polish veg
Bad weather conditions throughout Europe, including a cold and rainy summer in Poland, have left limited quantities of cauliflower. Inna said that they have only exported around 10% of what they usually do by this time of year.
Along with cauliflower, Chinese cabbage exports have also been 'dramatic'. Although there is still Chinese cabbage available, low prices in Holland, similar to current Polish prices, have made the supplies difficult to sell in the export market.
"Everyone expects Polish goods to be cheaper than Dutch, but this isn't the case this year. Fortunately, we had other vegetables in our offer earlier in the season, like capsicum and tomatoes (which have now ended), which helped offset the losses from the cauliflower shortage. We are hoping that the situation will improve and become more profitable for Polish vegetables during the winter season."