The Polish apple season has been particularly strong this season, to the surprise of Emilia Lewandowska, office manager for Polish apple exporter Fruit-Group: “Our season started with a strong focus on long distance shipments. In September we started loading shipments to Vietnam, India and Colombia. We were positively surprised that we started our season with such strong momentum. Our Polish market demand was also rather good. Supermarket chains did some promotional programs for apples, so this had a positive effect on our domestic sales. Honestly, we thought that the beginning of the season wouldn’t be so good, so we’re positively surprised by the current state of things.”
Although temperatures are cooling down rapidly, some growers still have apples on the trees due to a lack of labor, Lewandowska explains. “Current demand is still stable, as we’ve just started the season a little over two months ago. Christmas is coming though, and we usually see quantities dropping by this time, as some growers finished their complete harvest last week. Today it’s -6 degrees Celsius, and there are still orchards with apples on the trees. This isn’t by choice, as some of Polish growers left apples on the trees due to a lack of employees to pick them all.”
Next to berries, some Polish growers are now setting their eyes on pear cultivation. Lewandowska states that this isn’t as easy as some might think, as pears are very demanding to grow: “Because of the poor financial condition of apples, growers started adding some diversification on the fields. Instead of apples they started planting blueberries, sweet cherries, strawberries, vegetables and now also pears. Pears are demanding in terms of cultivation; trees need good quality soil, and a good position on the land. Because it is hard to produce good quality and a good amount of pears, the decision to start growing them is not so simple for the growers,” she concludes.
For more information:
Emilia Lewandowska
Fruit-Group SP.z.o.o.
Email: biuro@fruitgroup.pl
www.fruitgroup.pl