Fresh Royal peaches

Leading Spanish stonefruit grower-marketer Fresh Royal has began its 2009 white peach campaign with its first shipment of fruit to Rungis wholesale market in Paris.

The Seville-based grower has exported 10 tonnes of white peaches to Rungis at the start of a campaign that is expected to see some 30m tonnes of the fruit being marketed across Europe.

According to Alexander Koch, from Fresh Royal’s sales department, volumes are likely to remain “more or less” in line with last season’s campaign, with Germany, Switzerland and the UK, as well as France, expected to be the main recipients of the fruit.

In a statement, Fresh Royal’s commercial director of stonefruit, Juan M. Moreno, said that in spite of the current economic downturn the company was optimistic for the prospects for its 2009 stonefruit campaign.

“It will be a difficult year for everyone but we are convinced that, even in difficult times, the client looks for and wants quality, so without a doubt it will be a year for generating added value,” he said.