“Air freight fees reach pre-pandemic levels quicker than expected”
“This year’s Dutch bell pepper export season began later than usual. “We thought, especially given the lower air freight rates, we’d be able to start in June,” says Marcel van der Pluijm of Feeling Fresh. “thus taking advantage of 4th of July sales, but that didn’t happen. North American demand wasn’t released until the second half of July because until then, there was still enough Canadian and Mexican product available.”
Nonetheless, exports are now well underway. “We’ve done some nice trading in the past two weeks. Bell pepper prices recovered, with especially yellow and orange pepper prices rising considerably. We expect more supply to loosen up, which will, hopefully, lead to a good continuation in August,” explains the exporter, who carries bell peppers as his main product, supplemented by products like eggplant, chilies, and leeks.
“The big thing this year is that air freight tariffs are back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s earlier than I expected. I thought those rates to the east coast would be around €1/kg, but they’re lower. The exchange rate is slightly less favorable than it was this time last year, though, when the euro/dollar exchange rate was one-to-one. The current dollar rate is ten percent weaker than last summer, but the lower air freight rates certainly offset that disadvantage.”
“The window to serve the North American market has narrowed somewhat in recent years. Increased Canadian and Mexican crops are limiting especially Dutch export opportunities. But, once demand from America erupts, it’s still often in full force. I’m sure exports to the States will never disappear,” Marcel concludes.”
*This article is excerpted from freshplaza.com website, published 11th August 2023