With the first official harvest by Federal Minister of Agriculture David Clarinval, the conference season has finally begun. Van Haelst Fruit has also started the harvest quietly, but from Monday onwards larger quantities will slowly but surely be coming out. “It’s a nice time again. Although there was some excitement because I had predicted a harvest of around 80 percent, we seem to be moving in that direction,” Christophe Van Haelst from the eponymous growing company and VHM Fruit Trade tells us.
“At the end of last season, there was certainly a consensus that the harvest would be much smaller than in other years,” he continues. “Now we can say that things are actually looking pretty good. Apart from a few plots and regions that were a little more affected by the weather conditions in the spring. We are heading for a harvest of 80-85 percent for the Netherlands and Belgium combined.”
The quality is also above expectations, according to the grower/trader. “When there are a lot of pears on the tree, they don’t get really big. Because there are a few fewer fruits this year, they grow really nicely outwards, so the pears are a size thicker than in other years. So you could say that the lower quantities weren’t even that bad for the jigs. Of course, you can still see a tick here and there from the hail damage, but in itself it’s not that bad. We have to sell the tiny ticks as class 1. Of course, there are some pears that are more severely affected, but overall it’s pretty good. So there are a few less pieces, but in terms of kilos, I think we have an equivalent harvest.”
Christophe was a little more sceptical about the start of the season. “Because the fruit spent some time in the cells at the end of the last season, there was a certain reluctance among customers. Last year, the phones were ringing early on, asking when we would start again. Not this year, but now the phones are starting to ring. It should be stressed that they are specifically asking for new harvest and not old harvest. It was also logical that it was a little later, because for a long time people had old harvest with enough sugar and if you start too early with new harvest that is not yet fully in flavour, you get in each other’s way. Now, from August 26th, the new pears are really in flavour and we can start with a nice product. If you started harvesting and marketing on August 15th, firstly they were not yet in flavour and secondly they were more expensive than the old harvest. So people waited a while, but now things are really picking up.”
So, in general, he is quite positive about the new season. “I was convinced that we would be able to enter the market well with fairly good volumes and that is showing. Fortunately, there is no oversupply either. It is more likely that there is a little too little than a little too much. Nevertheless, we must be cautious. Consumption has continued to fall in recent years, so we all need to work together in Europe to get it going again. Even now, in a season when people may have less trouble selling pears at good prices. It is also important now to also open up new markets because in a year of high production, if nothing changes, we will see real price drops. With our high costs, that could be catastrophic. It is therefore very important that we continue to find new markets and look after consumption together,” concludes Christophe.
For more information:
Christophe Van Haelst
Van Haelst Fruit / VHM fruit trade
Kieldrechtsebaan 85
BE-9130 Verrebroek, Belgium
+32 (0)3 336 16 47
+32 (0)477 77 77 36
(email protected)
www.vanhaelstfruit.be
