In our Food News in May, we already reported on the blossoming of fruit trees in Greece, Italy, Turkey and China: leaves, buds and fruit from a wide range of crops suffered due to frost in places. The extent of this is now visible: the apricot harvest in Greece was short and scarce, and the price of raw materials rose accordingly. A similar trend can be observed for cherries from Greece and Turkey. In combination with the current high prices for pineapples from Thailand, this has led to a significant increase in prices for fruit cocktails produced in Greece.

The picture is different in China, where raw material prices for fruit cocktails are at a similar level to 2024. However, the weak dollar and favourable freight rates could cause the price of imported canned fruit to fall slightly overall. The focus is particularly on pears, whose harvest begins in mid-August. So far, it looks like the harvest volume will be slightly lower than usual. At the same time, the market is also weak - both for pears and for fruit cocktails with pears. This also explains the price level described above.