New lookThe energy crisis is hitting hard at Nieuwerkerken’s Fruitsnacks. The company reports that they will leave 120 tons of Conference pears hanging, because cooling them will be too expensive. “With so much pain in the heart”, says the Paesmans family. The war and the recent drought have already been hard hits, but with energy prices there is also a major blow.
–
Read all the stories of energy in Limburg in us dossier.
–
–
“We can no longer avoid it all, due to the price of energy and the war, our sector is going through a difficult period. Very heavy, “the message reads.” At first we doubted it was something we should share with you, but we cannot and must not ignore it. We are fully engaged in our harvest season of a total of 67 hectares of apples and pears. and there is something. Where we normally have around 2,500 tons of apples and pears, we now have to hang around 120 tons of Conference pears. You read that right: leave them hanging. This hurts, and not just financially. “
–
small pears
This mainly concerns pears that have suffered severely from drought. “Due to the extreme drought this summer, there are many smaller pears than in normal years. The cost of marketing these pears is too high compared to the price we get. We decided not to harvest these small pears to avoid wasting electricity on them. ”This is a whole plot where the company could not supply extra water.
–
In addition, the other pears and apples are harvested, of which a small part is immediately sorted and sold. “The vast majority are stored in our cold rooms and are sold between now and July 2023. Due to the market interrupted by the war, apple cultivation is also facing overproduction at European level. Here too it looks very bad. “
–
Giving away non-cast pears for free is not an option. “If we gave away pears we would also increase the problem for our sector. So, if you want to help the farmers, it is better to buy Belgian fruit in the shop or eat an extra pear. We hope that this wonderful sector will certainly not be lost in an economic market situation that is beyond our control. “
–
