Due to the unfavorable weather conditions with little sunshine and cool temperatures, the season for Savéol was able to start at the beginning of March, as in previous years, but with significantly smaller harvest volumes than in previous years. Fruit importer Simon Ackermann Ltd from Koblenz is one of the few marketing partners of the French tomato specialist Savéol in Germany and mainly supplies German retail companies. "Due to the lower harvest volumes at the start of the season, we were only able to start the season with the corresponding volumes at the beginning of April, about a month later than in previous years," says Dario Plesa, buyer and seller at Ackermann.
For now over 30 years, Ackermann and Savéol have been working hand in hand. Over the past decades, the range of tomato varieties has been continuously expanded. "Today, we source around 20 different varieties from Savéol. The focus here is on the original flavorful varieties. The French-origin tomatoes are usually offered until October," adds the buyer and seller. 
Since last year, the entire Savéol tomato portfolio has been exclusively packaged in cardboard trays with cellulose sealing. The prices so far are almost at the level of last year.
Even though Savéol tomatoes are subject to strong demand fluctuations, the team at Simon Ackermann Ltd continues to observe an upward trend. Plesa explains: "Despite inflation, we find that consumer quality awareness continues to increase. People are increasingly asking themselves: 'Why would I buy a cheap tomato that doesn't taste good to me, instead of spending a little more and guaranteeing a tasty tomato on my plate?' With a unique variety like the Torino bottle tomato, we have been able to record good increases in recent years, while standard tomatoes have been declining for years."
According to Plesa, this is also due to the increasing supply of tomatoes, not only from the Netherlands and Belgium but also from German cultivation. Over the years, Ackermann has developed into a specialized importer from France. Over 90 percent of the imported fruits and vegetables come from French gardens. Thus, Ackermann offers the complete range of French products.
Difficult cauliflower season, early stone fruit blossom
"The cauliflower season is meanwhile slowly coming to an end. Due to the very unfavorable weather conditions, the harvest volumes were significantly below the average of the last years. The same applies to
Spain and Italy, which accordingly led to increased pressure on the markets," Plesa summarizes.
Right: The goods arrival of the Koblenz-based company.
Moreover, the procurement and marketing of southern French stone fruit is another core competence of the company. Similar to many other fruit-growing regions, the mild winter also led to an early stone fruit blossom in Southern France. "The season usually starts in mid/end June with the first apricots, followed later by peaches and nectarines. Even though France is priced somewhat higher compared to Spain and Italy, it has particularly worked its way up to a high standing in the area of white-fleshed nectarines and peaches over decades."
Images: Simon Ackermann GmbH
For more information:
Dario Plesa
Simon Ackermann GmbH
Wallersheimer Weg 29
D-56070 Koblenz
Phone +49 (0) 261 982 58-30
Fax +49 (0) 261 982 58 20
[email protected]
www.ackermann-fruchtimport.de