"Everything on track", this message reached us these days from our Partner from Spainfrom which we receive our ADRIA chickpeas relate. He reports: "The harvest in the northern hemisphere (for example in India, Pakistan and Russia) is already over and was normal. In Argentina on the other hand, will not start until November." It remains to be seen how quality and quantity will turn out. Currently, prices are largely stable and a maximum of 2% cheaper than last year. In the coming year, our partner would also like to increase Chickpeas from Spain in his factory. BRC and IFS certifications play a particularly important role in the selection of suppliers, as he reports. 

There is less good news on the market for Kidney beans: The harvest in the USA and Canada is running normally, but there are absolutely no offers for the necessary raw materials from these two most important origins - so speculation is in full swing. The supplier country China is itself a buyer on the market due to its now high domestic demand. Argentina, another source of kidney beans, is only a limited alternative for quality reasons. We are currently still stocked with products from last year's harvest - if you are interested, please contact us. Thomas Schneidawind is your right contact here. 

Fun fact: pulses (also known as legumes) are healthy for the climate. On the one hand, they are a good source of vegetable protein and contain a lot of fiber, which makes them healthy for humans. Secondly, the plants of chickpeas, beans and the like bind nitrogen (an essential nutrient for plant growth) from the air during cultivation and accumulate it in the soil. Therefore, no additional nitrogen fertilizer is required for legume cultivation and subsequent crops, which cannot bind nitrogen themselves, also need less fertilizer. This makes them healthy for the environment. The production of nitrogen fertilizer is very energy-intensive. So pulses are not only good for human health, they are also good for the planet. 

Since the end of July (and probably until October), tomatoes have been harvested almost continuously in Italy, Spain and Portugal and, depending on the region, processed into pulp, passata, tomato paste and the like. The harvest is also in full swing in Turkey and Greece, while in China it is almost over. We spoke to experts on the ground and have summarized the most important information here:  

First the good news: In Southern Italy, Portugal and Turkey the harvest is going well. The fruit is of high quality and the harvest volumes to date are in line with forecasts. 

Our managing director Fabian Kretschmer a few days ago in Portugal to see for yourself at a local partner: "Industrial tomatoes offer super produce in good quality." 

In Turkey the production has reached its peak: the first products from the new harvest are already available and appear promising in terms of both quality and price. "The harvest is 90 percent complete in the southern regions and 70 percent in the Bursa area. In Konya, we are still in the middle of it," says our Turkey expert. The price of raw materials has fallen by 3 percent compared to the previous year. On the one hand, this is due to remaining stocks. Another reason is the high financing costs due to inflation, which means that only goods that have already been ordered are actually produced and less to no goods in stock. Nevertheless, the customs duty, e.g. on tomato paste, is currently 14.4 percent and must be included in price calculations. This also applies to goods from China. 

In Spain the yield even exceeds expectations. Tomato paste is primarily produced there in barrels - probably more than originally planned. 

From Northern Italy we receive less good news. "By the beginning of September, 340,000 tons less were harvested than in the previous year," says our partner, explaining: "This means we would be 10 to 20 percent short by the end of the season." Why is that? The weather conditions for the early varieties, which are harvested from mid/late July, were already poor at the start of the season and the harvest forecasts were low. Hopes were therefore pinned on the late varieties, which are harvested from mid-August. However, it is now clear that even these varieties will not achieve the expected and hoped-for yield. In a normal harvest, the yield is more than 70 tons per hectare. The current yield is only around 60 tons, which is around 15 percent less than in a "normal" year. Due to the lower quantities, production is not running at 100% capacity, which in turn significantly increases the production costs in the factory. During their visit to MUTTI on September 12 Thomas Schneidawind and Eduard Kekel saw it for themselves: "Production was only running on two out of ten lines on the day of our visit due to the rain. That is far from economical. This means that large quantities are missing throughout northern Italy in order to reach the packing targets - let's hope for better weather that lasts into October." 

Finally, a look at ChinaIn the north-western region of Xinjian: temperatures have been higher than usual for months. In the tomato fields, the fruits are therefore all ripening at the same time - and not stretched out over a longer period as planned. As a result, around 20 percent of the tomatoes cannot be processed because they are overripe. As a result, the total yield is estimated to be 300,000 tons less than expected and will only be 1.2 million tons instead of 1.5 million tons.   

By the way: we regularly share the latest pictures and videos from our local partners on our social media channels. For example, you can find exciting insights into how the huge tomato fields, harvesting machines and factories in Spain look.  

"The apple harvest in Germany will probably be lower this year than it has been for seven years," reported the Tagesschau in mid-August. The reason: late frosts that froze the flowers. There was talk of around 22 percent less yield than in the previous year. At the beginning of September, this forecast was revised slightly downwards. Accordingly, the harvest in 2024 is estimated to be 15.7 percent lower than in 2023. However, as 2023 was not a good apple year, the expected harvest volume in 2024 is still 21.3 percent lower on a three-year average. The situation also looks bleak in other countries. In Poland (the most important apple-growing country in Europe), the harvest volume is estimated to be 19.6 percent lower than in the previous year. In other words: a drop of 25.0 percent on a three-year average. So it's not a surprise that the total harvest volume of European apples in 2024 is estimated to be over 11 per cent lower than in 2023.  

As a result of the situation described above, we can expect to see price rises for dried apple pieces from Europe: Last year, the raw material price was 0.32 euros per kilogram of apples. This year, we are already talking about over EUR 0.40 per kilogram. More precise price forecasts will be possible once apple pulp production begins at the end of September.  

On the other hand, we have received more positive news from China. The harvest looks very good and the current fall in freight costs could also make apples from China an option (at least in the short term). However, it should be borne in mind that this increased demand could also lead to higher prices. Our expert Eduard Kekel stays on top of the topic and is your contact for all questions relating to apples.  

The Thai pineapple market (one of the most important for us) is at a standstill: Fruit is missing and many factories are still closed. For example, in the south of the country, where production was originally scheduled to start in mid/late September. There is now talk of October and the the expected harvest volume is likely to be 23 percent lower than expected. So as soon as more factories start processing the winter harvest, they will compete for the limited raw materials and the Prices rise accordingly. How they develop in the coming weeks until the end of the year depends primarily on the further harvest in Thailand.

In November/December, it will therefore be decided whether Thai pineapples are competitive on the global market compared to those from Indonesia and the Philippines. 

Also with Partners from Kenya we are always talking about pineapples: June, July and August are always a "low season" there due to the cooler temperatures. However, due to flooding and heavy rainfall this year, experts were even talking about a "Low Low Season". For weeks, there was so little raw material that (as in Thailand) no production was possible here either. In the meantime, the Easing the harvest situation somewhat and the shortfalls are slowly being worked off (probably over the next few months). 

Incidentally, it's not just the pineapple situation that is currently causing concern. The prices for (tropical) fruit cocktails could also rise. On the one hand, because of the situation with pineapples from Thailand described above. On the other hand, because Heavy rainfall in Asia other fruits. For example papaya, which is also an integral part of our tropical fruit cocktails from Adria are.