Containers are not available and ships do not arrive on time
The Polish apple season has mostly been smooth sailing. Demand has been stable since the start of th…The Polish apple season has mostly been smooth sailing. Demand has been stable since the start of the season. The only challenges come from trouble with the transportation, as containers aren't available and ships arrive late at their destination.
Mohamed Marawan, CEO of Polish apple exporter Sarafruit, states they’ve been having a busy season. All of the apples they harvested from their own orchards have been sold and exported already: “For Sarafruit, ever since the season started we have been supplying for and exporting to our customers with the volumes they require from the various varieties. Our company produces a large amount of Golden and our clients were waiting for these. After we finished the harvest, we directly sorted the apples and exported them. Now, not a single kilogram from our own harvested apples is left. This means for the rest of the season we buy from different producers and continue to export.”
Although the season has been mostly smooth sailing, Marawan states the largest problems originate from the transportation of the apples. “The current demand hasn’t really changed compared to the start of the season. So, we’re constantly trying to meet the demand with our exports. The only challenge we seem to be facing all the time comes in the transportation. Containers are not available and the ships do not arrive on the loading port on time, as well as the port of the destination. Everything else is really under control. The quality of the apples that we’ve seen has been good so far. However, this is because we get our apples from the producers that know what they are doing and care for the product with a lot of care.”
At this point of the season, most of the apples have been stored in cold chambers, Marawan explains: “The majority of the apple volumes have been stored since one and half month ago, and the apples that remain have mostly been sold already. There are some of the apples still in normal storages, but this isn’t a lot at this point. The availability is good though, we will not have any problems supplying until the end of the season.”
Marawan doesn’t really know what to expect from the rest of the season, as there are a lot of variables. “I expect the rest of the season to carry its uncertainties. It all depends on the situation in the world, as politics are not comfortable at the moment, like the sensitive issue on the Polish border, but also the new wave of the coronavirus as well as the transportation issues. Inflation in general will also play a big part, as fuel and electricity costs are increasing. This also goes for other countries, so it makes it hard to predict the upcoming months.”