The availability of the chandlers variety and high percentage halves is very limited at the moment in USA and on the spot positions. Therefore, when you can find something and need it, it remains our strong recommendation to cover your nearby needs. The harvest from Chile is promising, but it will not be available until June/July at the earliest. Therefore, we do not expect much changes in the coming months.
On the other grades we do not see any big problems. In the USA there is significant inventory that need to be sold and shipped before the new harvest starts. In the months ahead the expectations are that smaller processors will push to sell their remaining stock because it will be getting warmer.
The situation in Eastern- Europe didn’t change much the last months. It remains difficult for Eastern – Europe packers due to the limited availability of raw materials and limited good quality materials. In addition, the prices for raw material are still extremely high. Therefore it is very hard for suppliers to compete with the US and Chile.
