In January, wholesale trade is generally quieter than usual, says Torben Sander, sales manager at Neuenkirchener Heidekartoffel Handelsgesellschaft. «Sales in school cafeterias and community meals continue steadily. However, it is quieter than in spring or summer. However, staple foods like potatoes and onions are always in demand. However, due to the very wet months of the past, many crops “There is a lot of demand for red onions. Fortunately, we can count on several producers throughout Germany for this product. Therefore, the offer will be good. But the price of red onions is at least 50 percent higher than in recent years.
Managing Director René Riegers and Sales Director Torben Sander (right) at their stand at the Hamburg wholesale market
Large calibers are missing: prices are constantly increasing
NH currently sells yellow onions from both Germany and Spain, with the milder Spanish variety being the most popular. «However, the prices of both products are very high, which is also due to the low crop yield. In the wholesale trade, large calibers from 70+ are needed, while for retail trade or home use, calibers from 35 to 50 mm are purchased. Large onions are simply missing. In Spain many companies do not want to sell onions yet because they are waiting for higher prices. Therefore, now prices are rising little by little. Shipping costs always go up around Christmas. Many citrus fruits arrive from Spain at this time. Normally prices go down again after Christmas, but this year it is like that. No. They keep going up. It sells for about 25 euros/25 kg.
Overall a good business year 2023
The Christmas business is not as big as it was about ten years ago. «Consumers do not shop as carefully as they do today. Christmas parties are still celebrated, but not on a large scale. There may still be sales at the Christmas markets, but it hardly shows on the bottom line. In short, we have had a good year, as expected. The summer was strong, the winter not so much. That’s how it went. We are satisfied.” The company also sells onions imported from France. «Compared to onions, onions are a secondary product. “There is interest, but the sales volume is not close to that of onions.”
Good potato prices for producers and traders
Looking back, a good year was recorded with potatoes as the main product. «Our farmers got good money for their potatoes in 2023. That’s how it will be in 2024. The pricing system is designed so that both the producers and us make a lot of money from potatoes. It is important to recognize it. We want a just peace agreement with our farmers. Most of the potatoes are sold by the wholesaler to Lüneburger Heide, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. «Our customers reach the Danish and partly Polish borders. “We have a manufacturing operation and we collaborate with farmers who grow potatoes on a large scale, so we are not dependent on imports or products from other regions.”
It should be noted that we have taken an “incredibly big step forward” with peeled potatoes. «On the one hand, we are very represented in community catering and, on the other hand, many customers who buy bags of potatoes now buy more peeled products. There is an increasing lack of personnel to deal with peeling in kitchens. «This is both a disadvantage and an advantage for us. We grow and process the potatoes ourselves. “As they can be marketed, the benefits are naturally greater.”
Between 90 and 95 percent of potato cultivation is produced in the Uelzen area; The products are processed directly there. “Manufacturing is very stable because the transport routes are relatively short and there are large warehouses on site. “This provides a central logistics system that can deliver goods to all of Germany, such as Berlin, Hanover and Hamburg.”
For more information:
Torban Sander
Neunkirchener Heideggerdofel Handelskeselschaft MBH
Hamburg Wholesale Market, Group B – Stand 63-66
Bankstraße 28
20097 Hamburg
Tel: +49 (0) 40 – 33 51 98
Fax: +49 (0) 40 – 32 44 18
[email protected]
https://die-nh.de
2024-01-22 22:00:21
#Onion #prices #Spain #Germany #increase
