Primeur Special Edition 2023 by AGF Vormgeving

Independent magazine of the fruit and vegetable sector - Since 1986

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del sector de frutas y

hortalizas • Desde 1986

Edición Internacional -

2023 Read English edition online

Primeur - FreshPlaza • Edición Internacional - 2023

International edition - 2023

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International Edition 2023 6

“The situation of oranges is dramatic in Andalusia, we are concerned about the share that Egypt is gaining” Antonio Carmona, Palmanaranja

“The size of our Cupla blueberry variety has not fallen below L until the end of the campaign, despite the weather” Juan Báñez, Cuna de Platero

16 “The trend among companies of merging into large groups is driving automation” Christophe Blanc, Grupo Maf Roda

29 “We must pursue the differentiation of fresh potatoes to prevent the continued drop in their consumption” Juan Manuel Coello, Patatas Meléndez

38 “The product has a value and the markets have realized that profitability must be guaranteed. The context has changed” Eduardo Córdoba, Primaflor

Venlo

“We want to promote Drôme garlic production” Jean-Luc Parou and Dominique Viel, Ferme des Arches

“Five years from now, there could be new banana varieties” Gert Kema, WUR:

The fruit market in Saudi Arabia needs more regularity Stefano Iorini, Global Star Group

Weather extremes impact on global fruit and vegetable sector. Where are answers being sought?

A kinship built on lemons Sundays River Citrus Company

Economic sanctions, the main barrier to Iranian fruit exports

Morocco’s soft fruit industry in mutation

Tipping platform ensures efficient offloading of temperaturecontrolled trailers of early potatoes

“To feed the world, you shouldn’t consider productivity/ hectare, but fair wealth distribution” Volkert Engelsman

Water availability: a blessing and curse for Dutch top fruit cultivation

“There are so many unknown exotics we could still bring to Europe and the USA” Melissa Hartmann de Barros with HLB Specialties

French apples and pears: different challenges towards a common goal

China’s long-term fruit game

Sales opportunities for Italian fennel are expanding into foreign markets

Rail offers opportunities for fruit and vegetables too

Leading South American fresh produce industries see Spanish as allies

“The strawberry industry is not using water from illegal sources in the Doñana Na-tional Park”

“Spanish growers focus on producing a low-cost product, but investments could result in better results”

“We are marketing some 200,000 to 300,000 spring onions a day” Dieter Stubenbordt, Stubenbordt & Co.

Could climate and economic change affect the organization of European markets?

104 Italian kiwi harvest expected to be reduced 110 “Regarding climate change, one should think in terms of cycles” Roberto Tur, Fresh Fruit Alliance 121 “All berry crops suffered in the end, raspberries in particular” Jonás Cano, PPO Services 125 AI, robotics sending fruit and vegetable chains back to the drawing board

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Venlo

50 “After this season’s experience, some Dutch producers may consider investing to increase their commercial activity” Francis Martos, Natura DP

98 Ecuador bananas and Colombian exotics industries find Spain a springboard to Europe

114 “This is a good time for platerines” Miguel Aceituno, Haciendas Bio

117 “TropicSur starts the 2023 national mango campaign with the goal of marketing more than 10% of the total volume” Álvaro González and Juan Miguel González, TropicSur:

148 “Mushroom availability will be the biggest challenge in the coming years” Jurgen and Rob Banken

128 “We have been able to successfully expand our presence in more and more export countries” Raymond van Ojen, Xenia Janina Bembenek, Obst vom Bodensee/DOSK 130 “Spain has a very modern infrastructure, but without water they can have problems with their crops” 134 “Strong demand for coconuts from Spanish fresh produce players” Según Jakub Krawczyk: 136 Spain: No distinction in the market between open-field and hydroponic lettuce 140 “There is still English produce around, but I can get the produce from Holland in the same amount of time” 144 “PotatoNext is the next step, giving us room to breathe in the coming years” Wim van de Ree, Nedato: 154 Excellent Commercial Prospects for Pomegranates: The Opinion of an Italian Producer 159 New Zealand apple exports to Europe and UK significantly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle

Colophon AGF-PRIMEUR bv Stevinweg 2, 4691 SM Tholen The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)166-698200 info@agfprimeur.nl - www.agfprimeur.nl Freshplaza bv Stevinweg 2, 4691 SM Tholen The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)166-698200 info@freshplaza.es - www.freshplaza.es Editorial: Pieter Boekhout Editorial staff: Joel Pitarch, Valeria Ten, Marta del Moral Arroyo, Carolize Jansen, Nicky McGregor, Youness Bensaid, Clayton Swart, Marieke Hemmes, Nick Peters, Aurélie Pintat, Marine Inghirami-Benaroch, Jonny Diep, Hugo Huijbers, Anouk Sijmonsma, Arlette Sijmonsma, Cristiano Riciputi, Vincenzo Iannuzziello, Rossella Gigli, Andrea Di Pastena, Izak Heijboer, Martine van der Wekken, Marjet Lubbers-Bruijnse Advertising: Andries Gunter Design and production: Viola van den Hoven, Martijn van Nijnatten La reproducción completa o parcial de los contenidos sin el permiso escrito de la editorial queda totalmente prohibido. La editorial no se responsabiliza de posibles imprecisiones o errores de contenido.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

Antonio Carmona, president of Palmanaranja:

“The situation of oranges is dramatic in Andalusia, we are concerned about the share that Egypt is gaining” In the 2023-2024 campaign, the citrus production in Spain is expected to fall below 5.8 million tons, according to the Union of Unions of Agricultural Producers and Ranchers; therefore, the production will be further reduced compared to the 2022/2023 campaign, when it had already fallen to the lowest level of the last seven seasons, with a volume that did not reach 6 million tons. Just two seasons ago, the production exceeded 7 million tons, and in 2018-2019, it came close to 7.3 million tons. The fall in the production is said to have affected small citrus fruits (mandarins and clementines) and oranges, while the lemon and grapefruit volumes have grown.

he drop in the production is a consequence of the inclement weather conditions recorded in late winter and spring 2023. High temperatures and low humi-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

dity in March and April also hindered the fruit setting and caused massive fruit drop. Also, the drought, which already took a toll on the Andalusian production

last season, will determine the Spanish production as a whole, especially that of oranges, following the restrictions on the supply of irrigation water. This year, there will also be restrictions to the Tajo-Segura transfer to Murcia and southern Alicante, which will threaten mainly the domestic lemon and grapefruit productions in the future. Meanwhile, Valencia and Castellon will have guaranteed water resources, but they are also affected by pests and the growing abandonment of plantations due to the low profitability achieved in recent years.

The orange production in the main producing areas of Spain will fall by 50% compared to its potential

The citrus growing area most affected by the drought in Spain is Andalusia, which in addition to producing mandarins and other citrus fruits, is the country’s largest orange producer. In this region, the harvest is expected to be reduced again this year.

“We expect the orange production in the 2023-2024 campaign to drop by another 20% compared to last season, bringing the volume about 50% below the average of previous campaigns and of the productive potential,” said Antonio Carmona, president of the Palmanaranja association, one of the main agricultural organizations in Andalusia, formed by producers of the Guadalquivir Valley (Seville and Cordoba), which accounts for between 450,000 and 500,000 tons of oranges. Antonio Carmona is also at the helm of the company Sunarán, based in Palma del Río, Cordoba, which joined Unica Group in 2019, contributing a potential of 50,000 tons of oranges. “Most irrigation communities have not been able to offer more than 15% of the

water needed by orange plantations. With this, we cannot think about the harvest, only about saving the trees. It is a dramatic situation for Andalusian oranges; we had never gone through anything like this before,” said the head of this organization. The plantations with better access to irrigation will have some more commercial sizes, because there is not much load on the trees, but in general, there will be an abundance of small calibers.

es are made, only by the quantities and qualities that are available when the fruit is harvested and shipped,” said David Usó, from the sales department of the Castellon-based company Frutinter, who added that “there has been some movement in the sector with the formation of large groups with great potential that also need many millions of kilos, which has perhaps motivated them to buy more aggressively than when they operated independently.”

“Stores need a lot of fruit and many kilos to be able to serve their customers and not break the supply chain. Bringing purchases forward involves some risks for us, because the market conditions are not influenced by how early the purchas-

EGYPT COULD REGAIN MARKET SHARE IN EUROPE Egypt already managed to take advantage of the situation of the production in Spain last season, as it was one of the few citrus producing countries (mainly of oranges) of the Mediterranean Arc whose

ORANGE PURCHASES WERE BROUGHT FORWARD THIS YEAR DUE TO FEARS OF SHORTAGES. With such a low supply forecast, the field buying operations from stores started noticeably earlier than usual. “Stores wanted to have their orange supply guaranteed as soon as possible, which led to speculation,” said Antonio Carmona.

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Orange prices are expected to be high again, as they were last year, or even higher, in the face of the greater drop in the production. “We had very high prices, although for some farms they were still not high enough to make up for the high costs and the significant loss of kilos,” said Antonio Carmona.

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

production was not affected in terms of volume, so it had a very profitable campaign. Europe (Spain included) significantly increased the import of Egyptian oranges in order to guarantee the supply to its customers and the plants, and that volume is expected to increase again this year. Specifically, in the 2022/23 season (between September and July), the EU imported 893,236 tons, which is 42.2% more than in the same period of the 2021/22 season (+265,000t) and 20.2% (150,000t) more than the average. The main supplier is Egypt, with 50.9% of the total and a 17 point increase in its share. This country’s volumes exceeded the average by 82.5% (+205,700t).

“Egypt has become a very important producer of oranges and has taken a very considerable share of the world market. This is something that raises concerns among us, Spanish orange producers, since the drought is greatly limiting our potential, and then it will be difficult to regain the ground lost to a country with which it is hard to compete, given its aggressive prices and lower production costs,” says Antonio Carmona.

“We hope that the administrations will propose solutions, so that this situation of drought and supply shortages won’t continue for more campaigns. Once we recover our productions, we will find that Egypt has taken our place and we will have to fight to differentiate ourselves

with our service, quality and food safety. Fortunately, we have logistical advantages in Europe, since we can put our finished product on the shelves in just a few days, while Egypt ships it in 15-kilo cardboard boxes and European operators still need to pack it,” explained the president of Palmanaranja.

“Before the productions were reduced by the weather and irrigation restrictions, Egypt was already a growing competi-

tor. That is why we are asking the European administrations to enforce the same rules that apply to our productions and not allow the marketing of products with active ingredients that are forbidden to us,” he said.

“ALTHOUGH THE CITRUS PRODUCTION WILL BE SMALLER, THE YIELD OF COMMERCIAL FRUIT COULD BE HIGHER” While the provinces of Castellon and Valencia also produce a significant amount of oranges, the most common

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

crops are mandarins and clementines. While it seems that the production will be low in terms of volume, there will also be a lower incidence of pests compared to last year.

“According to the forecasts for the first part of the campaign, it seems that there will be lower volumes compared to the previous year; however, I believe that the yield of commercial fruit could be higher,” said David Usó, from Frutinter, a firm with headquarters in Vila-real, Castellon, and an annual citrus production totaling around 110,000 tons. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to harvest quality fruit, as the presence of pests and the lack of weapons to fight them make it difficult for us to have a healthy production and high yields in terms of volume. Last season there were many defects in the fruit due to pests that made it unmarketable, but this year it seems that this problem won’t be as bad.”

Although pests are more under control than last year, the Frutinter salesperson claimed that the circumstances are challenging. “Europe demands compliance in phytosanitary applications in the field, which sometimes makes us less competent than other producing countries. Despite this, we always try our best to eradicate pests and produce good quality fruit,” said David Usó. 

Spain

Juan Báñez, general director of Cuna de Platero:

“The size of our Cupla blueberry variety has not fallen below L until the end of the campaign, despite the weather” In the fields of Huelva, everything is ready to start with the planting of the new berry season. According to the latest data shared by the Government of Andalusia, in the previous campaign, strawberries were the berry showing the most stability, with a slight 0.2% growth of the acreage compared to the previous season, and an increase of 0.6% in the total production, which amounted to 315,558 tons. However, due to the weather, there was more irregularity than desired during the campaign, as while strawberries enjoyed greater stability, blueberries or raspberries recorded year-on-year drops in the production of 19 and 26.8%, respectively.

“A

t Cuna de Platero we have not been unaffected by this season’s meteorological situation. What affected us most was the cold recorded in the months of January and February, which slowed down the production,” said Juan Báñez, general manager of Cuna de Platero.

“We closed the season with a -10% drop in the production, mainly due to the weather. However, the quality was not affected and has remained good throughout the season. As regards strawberries, we still

prefer to work with varieties from Huelva, such as the Rociera, although we also remain involved in varietal research, always looking for the varieties that are best suited to Huelva and our cooperative, and which can yield the best quality for us.”

“This year we are going to be planting the same. It’s a bit risky, but we prefer being able to guarantee a supply of strawberries to our customers during the first part of the campaign. If there are any reduc-

tions, we will have to see how we deal with it in the middle and at the end of the campaign. Our objective is clear: to guarantee the supply of quality fruit to our customers throughout the entire season.”

It should be noted that, at the moment, production costs have fallen to reasonable levels, but this was not the case last year, when the sector had to deal with risAGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

decreases. As for blackberries, we are working on varietal development, betting on R&D&I to try obtaining a variety that would allow us to remain competitive throughout the year, as we have achieved with blueberries.”

“The Cupla is an early variety, easy to harvest, and with not very demanding water and fertilizer needs. It yields good quality fruit, with a flavor and juiciness reminiscent of wild blueberries, and a size which doesn’t fall below L throughout the season. It also ensures a good productive yield and good shelf life. Its productive cycle starts in late November and lasts until early May, with the production peaking in February and March.”

es in the costs of raw materials and energy, leading some to shut their greenhouses down in many parts of the continent. Fortunately, the rise in the prices at origin, of 20.8% for strawberries, 6.8% for raspberries or 37.3% for blueberries, helped growers offset the increases in costs faced by the entire sector, especially in the last months of 2022.

BRONZE PRESCRIBING PARTNER OF THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT Cuna de Platero is going back to Fruit Attraction this year as a leader in sustainability in the berry sector. Last year, it received recognition from the United Nations Global Compact, to which it adhered in 2019, and was named “Bronze Prescribing Partner” of the United Nations Global Compact Spain for acting as a guide for other companies and for its dissemination work. Last year, it also obtained the Q-ODS seal, which certifies social and environmental commitments without neglecting the economic aspect, and was a pioneer in the berry sector in both initiatives.

Thus focused on sustainability and aligned with the SDGs, the cooperative manages 1,000 hectares of crops cultivated by its members with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. The Rociera is the cooperative’s bet when it comes to strawberries, while for raspberries and blueberries, the most

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

important, respectively, are the Adelita and the Cupla. The latter was developed by the company’s R+D+i department.

“We are still analyzing how the raspberry campaign went, but we believe the results will be very similar to those of the previous one, with no increases or

“This year, blueberries have been significantly affected by the weather, which has delayed the start of the campaign. However, our Cupla variety has performed excellently, with sizes not falling below L until the end,” said Juan Báñez. “This season, the Cupla will again be available to all growers in the province interested in growing and marketing it,” he said. 

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France

Jean-Luc Parou and Dominique Viel, Ferme des Arches

“We want to promote Drôme garlic production”

Ferme des Arches is an organization of 55 producers specializing in garlic, onion and shallot condiments in the Beauce and Drôme regions in France. They cultivate together 97% of the products they put on the market, both grown conventionally and organically. “Nouveaux Champs” is a new comer in this collective committed to regenerative agriculture, bringing in a “Zero Pesticide Residue” and “High Environmental Value” (both French labels). Jean-Luc Parou, CEO of Ferme des Arches, and Dominique Viel, Sales Director, explain the project from their site in the Drôme region, outlining the first perspectives of the allium campaign at the dawn of September. FERME DES ARCHES: DOUBLE SITUATED IN BEAUCE AND DRÔME REGIONS Known primarily for its allium production in Beauce, Ferme des Arches is also cultivating in Drôme for 5 years now. “Since 2017, eight garlic producers have joined us and became shareholders in our producers’ organization,” explains JeanLuc Parou. “A word about this ‘side-production’. We want to proudly remind our customers that we grow this magnificent crop in two production zones, each with its own specific characteristics. The aim of Ferme des Arches is to “better promote Drôme garlic production and involve producers in the marketing process”. The project will take shape in 2024, including “a redesign of the brand and even a common signature, aiming at enabling con-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

sumers to locally identify each production”.

“We will put Drôme producers in the spotlight this autumn, as Ferme des Arches will hold a stand at the Fruit Attraction trade show in Madrid, from October 3 to 5, figuring the region’s positioning”. Dominique Viel describes the situation for the coming season.

GARLIC: A DEFICIT IN LARGE SIZES While some of France’s production areas have been affected by adverse weather conditions, the Val de Loire and Drôme regions have enjoyed satisfactory harvesting conditions since the start of the season in June. But the 20% drop in yield perspective “raises the question of the

campaign’s duration, given the lower volumes harvested last year”, according to Dominique Viel. “This drop in yields can be explained by a shortage of large sizes”, and should force Ferme des Arches to “refocus on smaller sizes to extend the commercialization period”. The campaign could result in a shorter marketing period, with higher production prices than in previous years, due to climatic hazards in Spain and soaring input material prices.

Purple garlic, on the other hand, has stood out over time. “For 3 years now, we’ve seen an increase in consumption”, explains Dominique Viel, “thanks to its color, which makes it stand out on the shelves”. Although it has a sharper flavor than its white cousin, this difference is generally founded much more subtle than the comparison between yellow and red onions.

A COMPARABLE SEASON FOR ONIONS? This is the golden question Dominique Viel is asking himself, finishing a campaign with shortages in volume, resulting in high selling prices at the end. At this stage of the harvest, Ferme des Arches growers are quite satisfied with the yield, and remain cautious about the health of their onions and their evolution in storage. The question that still persists

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

France

– asked by numerous operators beside Ferme des Arches, is how European neighbors will perform, especially those offering better commercial weight than the French onions. “How will Spain, the Netherlands and Poland position themselves, in terms of volume, quality and price? It’s still too early to say! On the other hand, we do know that situations will vary a lot, even between regions within each country. The yielded volumes and qualities will be decisive, not talking about the consequences of high prices, which could interfere with trade (export) flows. Regarding red onions, a change in dynamics has been observed since last

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

year. While consumption remains tense, demand moved to smaller sizes. “There has been a change in strategy on the part of supermarket chains, which have introduced anti-inflation measures. Small-caliber red onions meet this kind of target, generating an increase in consumption without harming the business of greater calibers”, explains Dominique Viel.

TRADITIONAL SHALLOTS: A VERY GOOD HARVEST COMING! French shallots are marketed since the beginning of the summer, and they look very fine. “The product is very qualitative and show a good size. And yields per hectare are very respectable compared

with last year”. Its consumption would be declining, as confirmed by various operators in the sector. “We all pointed out that, over the past 2 years, consumption has fallen by 10% to 15% as a result of higher prices in the 2019/2020 season. This is very normal in such circumstances, consumption falls back in the following years, especially because shallots are seen as a plan B for onions, for example.  fermedesarches.com

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Spain

Christophe Blanc co-owner and CEO of Grupo Maf Roda:

“The trend among companies of merging into large groups is driving automation” Rising costs, increasing labor shortages and the sector’s restructuring through company mergers, driven by acquisitions by large operating funds, are boosting investment in automation in fruit and vegetable packing houses in an increasingly integrated way. So says Christophe Blanc, co-owner and CEO of Grupo Maf Roda, a family-owned, multinational company that has been a leader in process automation solutions for fruit and vegetable warehouses for more than 60 years and is present in some 70 countries.

“T

he COVID pandemic resulted in many producing and marketing companies addressing labor shortage issues by further automating the pre-calibration and sorting of fruit and vegetables, and doing the same with more and more processes, striving for almost complete autonomy,” said Christophe Blanc. “The disproportionate rise in costs in less than two years has also led many companies to consider automation as a medium and long term solution to continue growing, remain competitive in their markets and be able to offer the highest quality at affordable prices.”

“The need to automate all processes applies to a wide range of products, especially citrus fruits, cherries, tomatoes, stone fruit, berries, apples... The labor shortage is a widespread issue in several countries,” he said.

AN AMBITIOUS AUTOMATION PROJECT IN THE TOMATO SECTOR TO COMPETE AGAINST MOROCCO One of the company’s most ambitious projects in 2023 has been the installation of automation lines for one of the leading tomato production companies in Almeria: Vicasol. “There are growing concerns in the tomato sector in Spain due to the rapidly increasing market share in Europe of third countries such as Morocco, which they are achieving by offering more aggressive prices. This has led companies like Vicasol to take steps to improve cost control and production efficiency while ensuring quality remains the same in order to remain competitive. That is why they came to us, seeking to maximize automation,” says Christophe.

“This is a huge and interesting project, unprecedented in the tomato sector; one that brings a very high degree of automation and allows a significant increase in the production with very few personnel,” he said. “The first phase was completed at the beginning of the year and the pre-sizing and pre-packing lines are already running with our Globalscan 7 technology, which analyzes the external quality of the fruit. When the second phase is finished, all robotics will be included, including autonomous AGVs.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

“Championing a brand requires maintaining quality standards constant and consistent” Pomone IV enjoys a very good reputation in the sector, according to Christophe. “It is very efficient, with a low maintenance cost, great precision and a low noise level that is very welcome in the market.

Moreover, when combined with competent management, the Globalscan 7 grader and Viotec, patented by Maf Roda, can significantly reduce labor needs while ensuring a high level of accuracy in fruit sorting by quality. This way, we achieve a homogenization of quality standards for different markets. Championing a brand requires maintaining quality standards constant and consistent.

A year has passed since the company presented its successful AGV autonomous vehicle at the previous edition of Fruit Attraction. “All customers who chose to install it in their plants have been very satisfied. The demand is growing exponentially. We have already installed it several times for very significant players in Spain and are active in other parts of the world. In the United States, we are planning a very ambitious project in the citrus sector which will also be implemented in Israel for avocados. With only 4 people, it is possible to process between 40 and 50 tons of citrus fruits per hour. We have very promising years ahead of us in the implementation of these robots,” said Christophe Blanc.

GROWTH IN CHERRY AND BLUEBERRY WITH LINES THAT INTEGRATE ALL OF THE PLANT’S PROCESSES With 80% of the market share in Spain, the citrus sector is among the ones with the highest implementation of Maf Roda’s technology, although other products, such as cherries, blueberries, or stone fruit, are also recording good growth. In fact, the firm won an innovation award with its patented Cherryway IV sizer for cherries, which makes it possible to scan the fruit’s entire surface; something difficult to achieve, considering the fruit’s peduncle.

“We have recently implemented an interesting project in the Jerte Valley, with robotization to automatically depalletize the boxes and dump their contents on the sorting lines. AGV robots are also used in order to optimize workflows within the plant. Labor has been an increasing constraint in recent years, especially for cherries, whose season lasts for just a little over two months.” When it comes to the development of blueberry technology, Maf Roda has come up with a line that integrates every process, including the filling of clamshell tubs. “The idea is for a single line to integrate all processes and achieve maximum optimization, from the moment the fruit is dumped on the line until it is placed in the containers, in boxes and, finally, on the pallets. We are pioneers in this. In this way, everything is in the hands of the same manufacturer, allowing great-

er control and communication between the various links in the process, as well as optimal management and supervision of the line.

“THE TREND AMONG COMPANIES OF MERGING INTO LARGE GROUPS IS DRIVING AUTOMATION” The fruit and vegetable sector is undergoing a reorganization process. “Large companies are increasingly forming larger groups with the backing of investment funds, seeking to have a more substantial product range while further strengthening supplier-customer relationships,” said Maf Roda’s CEO. “This is boosting automation.” “Since these groups are so large, they can have specialized plants for a single product, which maximizes the production capacity of their lines and results in better automation and greater efficiency than in multi-product lines. Based on the needs of companies when it comes to labor and cost management and their pursuit for high and consistent quality, I believe this trend will continue in the coming years,” said Christophe Blanc. 

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Saudi Arabia

Stefano Iorini, Global Star Group

The fruit market in Saudi Arabia needs more regularity

All over the world, summertime signals a spike in enthusiasm for fruits, prompting increased consumption due to their high nutritional, hydrating value, and refreshing taste. Given the hot climate year-round, it’s unsurprising that the fruit industry thrives in Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf region, especially with the notable purchasing power of its citizens.

n 2021, Saudi Arabia imported impressive amounts of fruit: over 237 thousand tons of oranges, 179 thousand tons of apples, 79 thousand tons of grapes, 70 thousand tons of mangoes, 53 thousand tons of strawberries, and 21 thousand tons of avocados. Combined, all fruit imports totaled a value exceeding 1.78 billion USD, cementing the Kingdom’s

position as a crucial market for fruit exporters worldwide.

To gain a deeper understanding of the fruit industry in Saudi Arabia, we interviewed Stefano Iorini, one of the directors of Global Star Group. As one of the most well-established fruit importers and distributors in the country, Glob-

al Star targeted 70,000 tonnes of fruits import in 2023.

Stefano characterizes the fruit business in Saudi Arabia as “very dynamic”, with its growth being the only constant since the evolution of the country’s economy. Yet, he sees a pressing need for regularity AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Saudi Arabia

in the industry. “If there’s one imperative today for the fruit industry in Saudi Arabia, it’s to bring regularity to it. That’s the mission we’ve set for ourselves,” he mentions.

Many exporters are eager to supply the Saudi and broader Gulf market. However, Stefano observes a general misconception: “For many, it’s a secondary dumping ground after Europe. They see it more as a short-term opportunity than a sustainable partnership. But in reality, the Saudi market values reliability and long-term commitment.”

Stefano also highlighted the volatility in fruit origins, emphasizing a preference for those exporters offering contractual stability. For instance, most bananas come from Ecuador, lasting 12 months annually, making it the most consumed fruit in Saudi Arabia. Apples, predominantly from Europe , citrus fruits from Egypt and South Africa, and grapes and stone fruits from Spain, follow closely. Contrary to popular belief, Stefano claims the Saudi market is “more regular than the European market.” Despite global dis-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

ruptions, from the pandemic to conflicts, the industry remained resilient, even showcasing growth in times of inflation. He recalls a brief banana shortage but emphasizes that these were natural market fluctuations, not induced by geopolitical factors.

This drive to position Saudi Arabia as a first choice destination is finding an echo among growers who want to diversify their client base and not remain solely dependent on the European market. Stefano shares, “Our efforts are converging towards changing the paradigm in which the Saudi market is viewed by our partners. We have gone from a single contracted supplier a few years ago to 30 today, all of whom have made the Saudi market a priority.” Stefano believes there’s significant potential for the Saudi market to accommodate more fruit varieties. “The final choice lies with the consumer, but we, the importers, introduce the initial selection based on margin, quality, and taste (brix),” he explains. This dynamic means that some fruits, like Spanish citrus, may not appear

on Saudi shelves due to competitive pricing from other regions, such as Egypt.

Taking advantage of the high demand, the Kingdom also has a national ambition to produce fruit locally. The hot, dry climate of the country is no obstacle to the production of some varieties, using the huge underground water reserves in regions such as the Jizan desert. Global Star is now involved in the local production of fruits like red papaya. Stefano says, “The trials, both at agronomic and market level, have been conclusive. We are now producing red papayas at a commercial level. Volumes are still low, but the quality has been proven and the enthusiasm of the consumers shows great promise, it’s overall a nice experience.” On the distribution front, Stefano describes a unique balance between tradition and modernity. “While retail store sales have increased, they account for less than 40%. Small district retailers make up 25-30%, and wholesalers, farmers’ markets, and traditional open markets comprise 10-15%. This is distinct from places like the UAE, where supermarkets dominate.”

ing pivotal in the fruit industry. They need to convey quality, essential information, and the company’s values,” concludes Stefano.

The strategy seems to be bearing fruit (pun intended). “Since Delizia®’s launch, our sales have surged by 40% in just a few months, growing from 50,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes this year. These volumes represent a variety of products and origins: bananas from Ecuador and India, citrus fruits from Egypt, South Africa, Greece and Morocco, stone fruits from Spain, apples from Italy, Poland and Greece, and other products such as ginger and garlic from China and Vietnam.” Stefano shares. “At Global Star, our strategy is brand visibility. We target both large retailers and smaller stores. In a constantly evolving market, customers seek a trusted brand, and Delizia® is our answer,” Stefano elaborates. This brand, introduced in 2023, is set to expand across the Gulf by next year.

While the origins and varieties of fresh produce on the shelf may change from season to season, in a sensitive industry such as food, the brand represents the moral contract between the consumer and the supplier, and the latter’s commitment to a quality product, as well as an element of stability. “Brands are becom-

Looking forward, he is optimistic about 2024, with plans to further their brand and tap into the Gulf markets. He concludes with an invitation: “We need partners who are reliable, transparent, and can contribute to a more consistent fruit market in the Gulf countries.”  www.globalstar-group.com

▼ Scan for peeling videos on YouTube

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

South Africa

Sundays River Citrus Company

A kinship built on lemons “We foresee greater cooperation with Spain and the region of Murcia,” says Hannes de Waal, CEO of the Sundays River Citrus Company (SRCC) based in the town of Kirkwood in the Eastern Cape, where they’ve just had the most rain since 2011 and the coldest winter in a long while.

ext year, the Sundays River Citrus Company will be a hundred years old. Logistically the season ran much smoother than during the recent past, with mercifully none of the bottlenecks or disruptions that had plagued the past few seasons.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

The citrus crop in the Sundays River Valley ended a month earlier as a result of a much smaller crop on Valencia oranges. Also, severe hail damage to apples and pears in the Langkloof, a deciduous growing area to their southwest, reduced the

total amount of fruit moving through cold stores and the ports, leading to an ample supply of containers.

Their European clients advised them that fruit consumption was between 20 and 30% lower and during the winter and very hot summer of 2023, citrus sales were slower than before.

“And not only in Europe, where you can clearly see that consumption patterns have changed as they are impacted by energy costs and the war Ukraine, but worldwide as well.”

pany has its own coldstore facility with a capacity of nearly 5,000 pallets.

The South African citrus industry agrees that false codling moth (FCM) is a quarantine pest but they do argue that citrus black spot, which is primarily a cosmetic issue, is being unfairly used to restrict market access.

“We’ve just had a great rain season but to manage black spot in a wet season brings with it enormous costs, especially for us here and in the Letsitele area. It’s tough, and our government agencies are complying with the EU protocols to the very letter. It’s not easy and it’s costing us in the Sundays River Valley between R200 to R300 million [9.6 million euro to 14.4 million euro] a year. These are additional costs that growers cannot afford.” The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa, of which Hannes is the current chairperson, is vigorously lobbying the South African government to open a second dispute at the World Trade Organisation. The first concerned the speed at which the EU Commission accepted and enforced the new cold protocol on FCM. The second is envisaged to state South Africa’s argument that citrus black spot cannot and will never establish in the Mediterranean climate of Europe’s citrus orchards, just as it has never occurred in the citrus orchards of the Western Cape.

“Back in 2015 we saw it coming and we set about expanding our coldstore capacity, so we’ve already made the adaption, as have our colleagues in the region. However, those who ship chemfree Valencias are tremendously hampered by the cold treatment regime. It is having a profoundly detrimental impact on organic citrus growers.”

The summer heatwave boosted lemon consumption – lemons compose 45% of the SRCC citrus portfolio – but soft citrus and oranges were definitely negatively affected, Hannes notes, but he points out that the hard data to confirm these perceptions will only be available after the returns have been finalized for the season.

“There is no doubt that Europe remains our most important market. Our varieties were planted with Europe and the UK in mind. Given the slowdown in citrus consumption, a smaller crop was, to a degree,

a blessing in disguise - but that’s alas not what farmers need. What they need now is a large crop and an empty market.”

South Africa shouldn’t have to shoulder debilitating CBS costs any longer

This has been the second season of shipping oranges to Europe under a cold treatment required to mitigate against any false codling moth larva arriving alive in the EU. To the SRCC the protocol was not unduly disruptive, Hannes remarks, as the com-

CONSTANT ELECTRICITY SUPPLY NO LONGER A GIVEN The power cuts – up to ten hours a day – have been a difficult hurdle to clear, and Hannes has calculated that it would take between R1.5 and R2 billion for an area like nearby Patensie’s producers to fully switch over to solar energy.

“In our valley the diesel needed to run the packhouses and cooling capacity during power cuts amount to between R200 and R250 million [9.8 million and 12.3 million euro] per year. And when you need to irrigate orchards and you have ten hours of power outages, referred to as loadshedding, it hugely disrupts irrigation and it negatively affects your yield.” AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

South Africa

PASSION FOR LEMONS IS A COMMON DENOMINATOR Hannes notes that their ties with the Spanish industry run deep: for example, Citrico from Spain has bought land in the Sundays River Valley and the SRCC’s biggest suppliers of packhouse chemicals are based in Spain.

At packhouse level they exchange knowledge with their Spanish counterparts, especially in Murcia in southeastern Spain, where the country’s lemon and grapefruit production is concentrated.

South Africa’s electricity supply uncertainty has naturally led to an explosion in interest in alternative forms of energy generation. In the Eastern Cape wind turbines have become a familiar part of the landscape. At the coast the Ngqura industrial zone has a hydrogen energy project underway, while in the city of Port Elizabeth some companies have moved to use liquefied natural gas.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

“Our government will have to embrace a transition to alternative energy generation to ensure higher supply into the country’s distribution network, especially for agriculture sector. Losing the foreign currency injected into the country’s economy from the citrus trade, and other agriculture exports, would have a devastating effect on the economy.”

“From Murcia a hand of friendship has been extended,” he says, “and we’re slowly but surely making progress in cementing a respectful working relationship with Ailimpo, aimed at benefiting all parties. The common denominator between growers from the Sundays River Valley and those in Murcia is a passion for lemons,” explains Kevin Terblanche, SRCC marketing manager. Kevin continues: “Both areas produce quality lemons with SRCC being able to counterseasonally supply Murcia packhouses during their summer, thus keeping their work force employed and cus-

tomers supplied twelve months of the year. It is truly a win-win partnership.”

With the expected growth in the SRCC’s lemon volumes, the ties with Spain will only get stronger and more critical to both sides over time.

ALL EFFORTS SHOULD GO INTO BUOYING CITRUS CONSUMPTION The SRCC believes that close cooperation with Murcia is valuable for their valley. “It is a modern and dynamic region. They probably have the second best lemons in the world,” Hannes quips.

“Bolstering world citrus consumption ought to be everyone in the citrus industry’s goal. Spending money on politics within the industry is very expensive and it’s not bringing consumers to the citrus shelves. The politics are wholly unnecessary.” The perception that South Africa steps on Spain’s toes in the citrus market is inaccurate; on the contrary, South Africa always tries its best not to compete head-on

with Spain’s fruit. The previous two seasons’ overlap of South African and Spanish fruit was not by design, but because of the anomaly of a supply chain completely thrown off balance.

“When logistics are running as it should there is scarcely any overlap between South Africa and Spain,” Hannes maintains. “We supply in different seasons and

when you objectively look at the data, it’s evident that we are not a serious competitor or any threat to Spain.”

He adds: “South Africa sells very high quality citrus and we are arguably the best citrus exporter in the world. We are Spain’s natural global partner in citrus.” 

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The shortest way for fresh or frozen cargo from producer to customer from producer to customer in a CO2 neutral environment

www.luiknatie.be AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Morocco

Morocco’s soft fruit industry in mutation The 2022-2023 Moroccan soft fruit season ended in May, earlier than usual, and was affected by difficulties in both production and marketing. Climate disruptions, with temperatures sometimes too low, and sometimes too high, had an unavoidable impact on volumes. To add to producers’ distress, demand and prices were poor throughout most of the season.

rowers and exporters had no choice but to take the blow, and learn the hard lessons, says Zouhir Daissoria, of Rika, a soft fruit growing and exporting company based in the Loukkos region. The difficult season seems to mark the beginning of essential changes in the Moroccan soft fruit industry.

Zouhir says, “ To say the least, it’s been a difficult year for the industry. The sharp drop in demand was coupled with harsh weather conditions. Rising production costs made matters worse, to the point of jeopardizing the entire industry. If climate disruptions remain constant, we’re likely to see a dramatic drop in soft fruit production in Morocco, especially red fruit, in favor of other produce. In the Loukkous region, which accounts for 80% of Moroccan soft fruit produc-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

tion, the dedicated area for the 20222023 season is 7834 hectares, including 2822 ha of strawberries, 2822 of raspberries, 2175 of blueberries, and 15 ha of other varieties.

One of the impacts of the new commercial and climatic realities is the decline as of next season in strawberry acreage in favor of blueberries. Zouhir explains, “Strawberries have been the biggest casualty this season. It’s strawberries that have seen the highest volume losses due to swings in temperature, and also the lowest prices. Strawberry production costs are rising more than other soft fruits, and the drop in yield is coupled with a drop in profitability.” The producer adds, “Raspberries too recorded a drop in yield due to weather conditions, on the order of 50% com-

pared with normal volumes. In terms of prices, raspberries fared better than strawberries for a few months of the campaign, but lower yields are attracting fewer and fewer growers. For strawberries and raspberries combined, the acreage decline will be substantial as of next season, with a 20-25% drop in favor of other products, such as avocados and potatoes. In the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of red fruit acreage in the region is converted to avocados, which are doing well currently.”

Nevertheless, there will still be strawberry production for European customers who prefer Moroccan strawberries, according to Zouhir. “Some producers have an historic and stable customer base in Europe, and that doesn’t change from season to season. And there’s also a potential for exporting frozen strawberries that hasn’t been fully exploited. Many freezing plants are currently under construction in the region. There are now more than 20 strawberry freezing plants in the region.” Climate disruptions require growers to adapt their farming operations accordingly, and these changes are already

underway, says Zouhir. “Traditional varieties can’t withstand anymore. Yields are plummeting, and growers are replacing the Spanish varieties used in Morocco with American varieties. This varietal change has been underway for several years now, and the season that has just ended proves us right. As far as greenhouses are concerned, taking the next step has become a necessity. We’re seeing more and more greenhouses with opening roofs, and greenhouses that are more modern than the canarian greenhouses.” Blueberries, on the other hand, are proving resilient. “Despite an earlier-than-expected end to the season, blueberries fared well this year. Prices have been better than for other soft fruits, and they have remained at almost the same level as last year. Also, growers prefer to grow Blueberries since the cycle of the plants lasts up to 10 years, compared to 2 years for other red fruits. Blueberry production costs have also risen, and the market seems to be saturated, but there will still be an increase in blueberry acreage in the region.

Morocco’s soft fruit production is mainly destined for export. 95% of raspberry volumes are exported, 96% of blueberry, and 85% of strawberry. On the sales front, too, the campaign has been challenging.

Zouhir admits, “Soft fruit has been one of the first victims of global inflation and falling purchasing power. Many consumers eliminated soft fruit from their tables to cope with the soaring life cost, which greatly reduced demand and export prices. But at the marketing level too, not all markets have shown the same behavior.”

“The British market remained healthy this season, with good demand and the best offer prices, and absorbed the bulk of volumes, especially raspberries,” Zouhir continues. “The Middle East has maintained the same level of demand as in previous seasons, and it’s also a market that exporters prefer as it’s not very demanding. We have practically lost the Russian market due to sanctions, which prevent delivery by sea, while air freight makes the final price too excessive. As for the European market, demand was flat last season, as were prices. Last season, 90% of Moroccan soft fruit exports, all varieties combined, went to Europe and the UK, 4.5% to Asia, and 4% to the Middle East and North America”. The prices offered by European buyers were so low that they matched prices on the Moroccan market, but Zouhir sees this as an opportunity. “Producers and exporters should take a positive view of this. The local market has huge potential

to absorb large quantities, with decent prices throughout the season, if not all year round for frozen produce. Industry actors must surely take a greater interest in the domestic market, and run campaigns to encourage consumption of soft fruits. I think this year will also be the start of a boom in the national soft fruit market.”

The local market and the frozen industry are, therefore, important levers for the long-term viability of red fruit, and Moroccan growers will be forced to specialize in berries. This vision is also imposed by the configuration of the competition. Zouhir says, “Egypt has the upper hand on the strawberry market, with abundant volumes and production operations that are different and easier than the Moroccan model. Egyptians also benefit from a skilled workforce that is less expensive than in Morocco.” Zouhir concludes, “Fortunately, the competition with Egypt only applies to strawberries. For the rest of soft fruits, especially berries, we’re in a pretty good position. Competition from Spain is no longer a concern, but we are seeing the rise of some players such as Serbia.”  www.rika.ma

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

Juan Manuel Coello, commercial director of Patatas Meléndez:

“We must pursue the differentiation of fresh potatoes to prevent the continued drop in their consumption”

Juan Manuel Coello

In Spain, the acreage devoted to potatoes for fresh marketing in the 2023-2024 campaign has again been reduced in all producing regions. This, together with the impact of adverse weather phenomena of various kinds, has kept the supply low for much of the campaign, and prices have maintained a generally upward trend. According to Juan Manuel Coello, commercial director of Patatas Meléndez, it is necessary to pursue differentiation in order to reverse this trend.

“T

he data confirm that the acreage devoted to potatoes has been on a downward spiral in recent years, especially in the case of potatoes for fresh consumption, to the detriment of industrial potatoes, which are growing strongly,” said the commercial director of Patatas Meléndez, the leading Spanish company in potato production and marketing. “Growers are faced with increasingly stricter quality requirements, greater limitations in the water supply, and a lack of generational replacement and profitable alternative crops. Consequently, the production is increasingly in the hands of specialists, and the sector has become more professional in recent years.”

According to Juan Manuel Coello, in recent years, fresh potato purchases have tended to fall, while on the other hand, there has been a notable increase in the demand for processed potatoes, either frozen, in ready-made dishes, etc.

“This entails that, as a sector, we have to make a great effort to ensure the differentiation of fresh potatoes on the shelves, so we must bet on products with added value, looking for niches that meet the new needs. We have to facilitate consumption with formats such as microwave potatoes and highlight the organoleptic and culinary benefits of fresh potatoes compared to processed potatoes.”

IN THE COMING YEARS, GROWTH WILL BE EXPORT-ORIENTED With a turnover of 110 million Euro in the 2022 campaign and an annual production ranging between 180,000 and 200,000 tons in recent campaigns, the company from Valladolid aims to continue increasing its volume in the coming years, with a focus on exports, and with products that provide added value to the fresh market.

“Currently, we have our sights set on the export market, where we intend to expand our business, especially in Europe, in countries where we already have a presence, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Italy, France and Eastern European countries.” “Our export expansion project will have two differentiated lines: on the one hand, we will take advantage of the commercial windows left open by the aforementioned countries when they do not have a production of their own. We will ship sorted and selected products straight from the field, in big bags. These windows or gaps are certainly becoming larger and larger due to the changing global climate. For instance, the gap in Spain used to last from May to June, and now we are reaching up to late August,” he explains. “On the other hand, we will bet on added value, shipping ready-made products, flow-packs, or special formats for microwaves, among others. In Spain, we can produce a potato of great culinary quality thanks to the characteristics of our climate. Also, thanks to having infraAGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

structures in France and Portugal, our internationalization process can be carried out in a very competitive way and with high levels of quality and service in different segments within the potato sector, with different varieties for specific culinary uses.”

“IN THE LAST 5 YEARS, POTATO CULTIVATION HAS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE FOR EVERYONE” The 2023 potato harvest in Castile-Leon, the main producing region in Spain, started at the end of June and has lasted until the end of October. Yields have been high in the first part of the season and more normal for the mid-season varieties and onwards. “Plantings were carried out nicely, and the weather has been good in general. Prices have been high since the beginning of the 2023 season, with a steady upward trend until record highs were reached in May due to the low potato productions in southern Spain as a result of the impact of rain and frost. With the arrival of the Castilian-Leonese harvest, the supply increased and prices dropped, leading to a high concentration of the supply. This was addressed with a greater focus on exports.” “When prices rise so much (and this year, they have done so more notably), all links in the value chain must make an effort to manage the rise in costs. Purchase prices and contracts have been updated to ensure profitability for the entire chain.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

If we look back over the last five years, we can see how, as the sector has become more professional, with better planning, and leaving behind the speculative model of buying and selling produce, potato growing has become more profitable for everyone,” said Juan Manuel Coello.

DROUGHT, THE BIGGEST AGRONOMIC CHALLENGE FOR SPANISH POTATOES The drought has already become the biggest concern for producers. In fact, the company has already felt its impact on the double harvests in southern Spain, where water allocations have been lower and where the acreage has been reduced the most.

“At an agronomic level, drought is undoubtedly the biggest challenge for us. It is something that raises great concerns among us. We are looking for earlier crops, for varieties that are better adapted to this new reality, with less water needs, as well as, on the other hand, new production areas with more water,” said the commercial director of Patatas Meléndez. THE MOST AUTOMATED PLANT IN EUROPE, WHICH TREATS POTATOES AS IF THEY WERE FRUIT The company, which has maintained its corporate model with Javier Meléndez as sole administrator, inaugurated its new 4.0 automated factory in March, in which it has invested more than 36 million Euro. “We can say that we have the most automated plant in the sector at European

level. As can be expected, there are other factories with integrated automation, but they have not reached the point where we are, applying it to the entire process, from start to finish,” said the company’s commercial director.

Some of the facility’s most significant innovations include the introduction of optical sorters, which sort potatoes by size, shape and quality in a single process; AGV transport; anthropomorphic robots, which increase the production capacity for packaging; the implementation of a smart warehouse with capacity for about 1000 boxes of 800 kilograms each, which represents an increase of more than 700% compared to the current storage capacity; as well as greater energy efficiency and the optimization of the water cycle.

“We are progressing really quickly and already seeing the fruits of this investment since its commissioning. We have gained an amazing capacity to record data in real time, which will allow us to optimize the management in every way. Therefore, we are improving our production efficiency, achieving greater sustainability and maximizing our quality standards, since potatoes are treated as if they were fruits in all stages of their handling,” said Juan Manuel Coello. 

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WE HAVE TRANSFORMED THE INDUSTRY BY CONSTRUCTING THE MOST MODERN POTATO FACTORY IN EUROPE.

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The Netherlands

Volkert Engelsman:

“To feed the world, you shouldn’t consider productivity/hectare, but fair wealth distribution” kinds of weird polarities; we could begin caring about our planet.

Al Gore’s book “Earth in the Balance,” which he wrote shortly before being elected vice president in 1992, provided a different definition of profit. Financial results had long been considered regarding Gross Domestic Product, but Al Gore advocated a broader definition of prosperity. Neglect nature, human and social capital, and you’ll keep fighting a losing battle. You can only talk about gain when the earth, humanity, and others gain, too. That was a revolutionary position that immediately attracted me. It was also why I decided to leave Cargill and start Eosta.

After Anders Invest’s Food & Agri Fonds acquired Eosta, its founder Volkert Engelsman resigned as CEO. But you cannot deny your passion. So, he now sits on one of the organic fruit and vegetable sector market leaders’ Advisory Board. Thus, he remains connected, though Volkert prefers calling in an impact rather than a fruit company. “Our ideals are what always drives us,” he begins. Was your departure planned well in advance? It was, indeed, planned for a while already. I’m 66, and one shouldn’t linger too long. After 33 years - I was with Eosta from March 1990 until April 2023 - it was time to pass the baton.

Can you revisit those early days with us? Those were very interesting times. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Václav Havel, a

poet, became [The Czech Republic’s] first president, and prominent figures like Gorbachev and Al Gore were drawing attention to the climate crisis. That laid the groundwork for the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Until then, sustainability and CSR weren’t considered real issues, but much happened from then on, creating opportunities. The Cold War was over, and people got the idea that we no longer needed to concern ourselves with all

Did you feel isolated, as Eosta, in the fruit and vegetable sector? No, never. I’m a positive person, so that never bothered me. According to Rogers’ model, there will always be frontrunners and early adopters and, also, laggards. A trend-setting minority always kicks off progress. An important question: Do you want to be a follower or a leader? My motto is Dream, Dance, Deliver. Dream: Be honest with yourself and the things you can get behind. Dance: Seek out like-minded people who want something similar. And if a door doesn’t open, keep going. A door will always open somewhere else. Deliver: Before you know it, you’ll be part of a willing coalition, making a difference. Ideals have always driven our company; those two things are inseparable. Not for nothing, our slogan is “Where ecology meets economy”.

That’s still very topical; all of society struggles with agriculture and food issues. The problem is that people shoot from the hip at things that are just part of the problem. Sometimes it’s nitrogen, other times climate or immigration. But we ultimately need a new agricultural and food system that runs on a resilient ecosystem. I think we’ve been frontrunners in this for the past 33 years. Being alone in that never concerned me. You AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

The Netherlands

can have your dreams, but you can’t fulfill them on your own. That’s why Eosta has always stood for close cooperation with many parties. Only a few fruit and vegetable companies were working on these issues, but many NGOs were, not least, by being interested in our Save Our Soil campaign. We, thus, never lacked in observers. I considered it a coalition of frontrunners to accelerate food and agriculture breakthroughs.

Still, organic figures lag far behind the goal set years ago. Does that exasperate you? You’re explicitly referring to the organic share in the Netherlands. At four percent, we’re almost at the bottom; only Malta’s doing worse. But organic has an average 12 to 15% share in the EU member states. That share is much larger in some countries, like Austria and Denmark. In some segments, such as bananas, it’s already nearing 100%. That shows that organic is no longer a niche sector. I find it quite spectacular how the organic sector has

managed to grow, despite organic products being pricier than conventional ones. With the goals set out in the Farm-tofork deal, that share should reach 25%. I think it’s realistic for the Netherlands to say 15% is a solid ambition; that’s still a threefold increase. But I continue considering this much more as an opportunity. Things like inflation and rising commodity prices cause short-term obstacles that limit growth for a while, but you must keep seeing the forest for the trees. I think the government,

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

too, has a role in this. It likes saying farmers must become more sustainable but won’t pay a penny extra for it. All those labels and claims often yield nothing for the growers. That, of course, shouldn’t work that way. Even conventional growers who provide additional ecosystem services should be decently compensated. That does happen more in the organic sector. And better, thanks to the sound legislative system behind it.

Do you think organic’s higher prices are justified? I don’t believe organic is too expensive; it’s conventional that’s too cheap. The bill’s not neatly divided. We focus far too much on productivity per hectare, but it’s not right to pass on the costs caused by soil degradation, polluted water, or biodiversity loss to future generations. Then you are, as it were, borrowing money from your children. Hold the polluters responsible, according to the FAO, and conventional products’ prices would almost double, while organic products cost roughly 20 to 30% more. Thus, prevention is much cheaper than cure. The True Cost Accounting’s central idea is that our food’s social costs should no longer be passed on to society and future generations. Organic agriculture doesn’t borrow from the world’s children; instead, it provides good soil fertility and other ecosystem services. Organic seems far more expensive in this uneven playing field, where polluters still get away with it, by having a competitive advantage. Therefore, the organic sector must rely on an “aware elite”. Note: not a financial elite that wants to prevent the entire agricultural system from collapsing. This aware elite is often more educated but not necessarily more affluent. These people assess

Volkert presented to Queen Maxima the ‘True Price’ of pineapples

things differently from the mainstream; they’re the trend-setting minority.

But there’s not enough organic food to supply the world. As seen in the recently released documentary,’ Paved Paradise’.

Yes, yes, the great [Dutch science journalist] Hidde Boersma show…He argues that the more intensively you cultivate, the more nature remains. I could do with a few more like him. Then, ideally, we could banish all cultivation to a few industrial estates and flats. Fortunately, you can easily disprove this argument, nor is it taken seriously in the circles that matter. As long as 70% of our agriculture is used for livestock feed, there’s much on which we can improve. Intensive agriculture is catastrophic for soil fertility, biodiversity, and the climate. Organic is more extensive, and you need more land for it, but organic farming is a

marathon, not a sprint. If you want to stay more productive in the long run and really keep feeding the world, extensification in favor of healthy soil, clean water, and biodiversity is better. That solved the nitrogen problem right away. Hidde’s story is pure nonsense and will soon blow over.

You were one of the Resilience Hub and Robin Food Coalition founders this year. What is the goal? The Resilience Hub is about exactly that: resilience. Not just the environmental resilience we all seek, so we don’t go from one nitrogen problem to the next, but also social stability and inclusion, with chains where wealth is distributed fairly. Last but not least, it’s also about personal resilience and health. After all, 70% of our health costs are food-related. That can be done more efficiently for taxpayers, too. We must get rid of supposedly cheap food that costs taxpayers and our children

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

The Netherlands

more. If you want to feed the world, you must work not only on productivity per hectare but foremost on sustainable ecosystems and fair wealth distribution.

And that won’t change if the third world becomes even more dependent on the first, regarding fertilizers, crop protection products supplies, or Crispr Cas technology patent holders. Climate change also puts us at risk of millions of refugees, so we genuinely have to move toward a different agricultural system. There’s much need, but while we still can, we must help local players become more resilient. Socio-economic resilience thrives on diversity. Besides resilient ecosystems and social inclusion, health is our third pillar. We are World Champions of Agriculture with no regard for health. And our healthcare system completely disregards nutrition. That’s weird, right?

Now is the time to push to join forces and work together. In line with this, on April 18, we established the Robin Food Coalition to force a breakthrough for inclusive agriculture in the Netherlands. This coalition of sustainable SMEs wants to use joint impact reporting and disruptive communication campaigns to enable healthy, social, nature-inclusive agriculture to break through. I initially wanted to start with five or ten parties, but there were as many as 200 applicants. That became a bit too much, so we selected around 40 organic farms. But we could always add more later. The great thing is we’ve brought together the entire green vanguard - innovators who prove their sustainability vision every day. It’s a truly broad coalition of like-minded parties like Vivera, Eosta, HAK, Udea, Odin, Tradin, Ekomenu, and Yumeko, and interest groups like Urgenda, Bionext, and Caring Farmers. An indi-

vidual company with a roughly €150 million turnover doesn’t have that much say. That’s also why the SME lobby is often lacking. But, this coalition represents billions in turnover. Alone, these companies are often not too small to make an impact. Now, the Robin Food Coalition helps give them significant clout.

By joining forces, we can achieve things more efficiently. Former Unilever chief Paul Polman was a guest at the founding. He stated that the food sector has, so far, managed to operate in the lee of all the energy and fossil fuel focus, but that could change at any moment. The coalition will focus on two issues: sustainable impact reporting and communication. We commit to helping companies become “compliance-proof”. Currently, clients often push the sustainability reporting burden backward in the chain, where it’s handled very reactively. We can be more proactive because if you create your own sustainability model and report on it, you can show your people the actual extent of your social impact. We want to combine that with an overarching campaign regarding agriculture and food’s effect on society. I always use the four M’s of sustainability. You can measure, manage, market, and monetize sustainability. Each M has an alliance of parties working under it. Is having only organic partners in this club not limiting? Couldn’t you achieve more with, say, larger retailers? We’re not saying organic is the only solution, but it’s, by far, the best one. And one with the best earnings model for growers. Organic farming is considered the new model’s breeding ground. Supermarkets like Ekoplaza and Odin, but also Ekomenu, are represented in the Robin Food Coalition. We want to involve true pioneers,

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

which supermarkets, by nature, are not. Having mainstream retailers at the table too early only brings frustration. That’s why we’re starting with this group of companies, NGOs, and knowledge centers.

What I meant was the organic sector often says it’s looking for connections, but they’ve often already established the solution…

Well, you can see obstacles or opportunities. The organic sector is joining forces. No one’s stopping the conventional sector from doing the same. He who takes the initiative leads. Several roads lead to Rome, and every gain in sustainability is welcome. The goal is a breakthrough for a new food system with an integral vision of ecology, social connectedness and health, and fair weather distribution that reconnects farmers and citizens.  volkert@eosta.com

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Spain

Eduardo Córdoba, Director General de Primaflor:

“The product has a value and the markets have realized that profitability must be guaranteed. The context has changed”

ith more than 50 years of history and an annual production totaling around 200,000 tons, the Primaflor Group is one of the leading specialists in fresh produce such as leafy vegetables, sprouts and fresh-cut salads. Its acreage is spread over several Spanish provinces and it has five handling and processing plants.

“The 2022-2023 financial year was a record one in terms of turnover, although there was also tension during the campaign due to rises in input costs and difficulties to pass those increases on to the market in the first part of the year. It was an atypical season when it came to the weather, which had an impact on both yields and productivity,” said Eduardo Córdoba, General Manager of Primaflor Group.

The 2023-2024 leafy vegetable season is approaching, following a year that has been marked by an upward trend in production costs and lower volumes in southern Spain due to the impact of frosts and the continued drop in temperatures in winter, which caused product shortages in much of Europe. The consumption of fresh-cut products has stabilized, while the value of fresh, unpackaged products has increased.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

As a result, supply programs had to be significantly cut, with Iceberg lettuce being the most affected product. In view of this situation, sales prices had to be adjusted, including those of pre-prepared convenience products, as processing costs were up, mainly due to the rise in the price of raw materials at origin, which growers and processors have been bearing without this being passed on to the consumer in the first place.

“At Primaflor, we made every effort to meet our commitments. Thanks to our contingency plans, we managed to guarantee the availability of some of our products and minimize the drop in the supply of others, although in situations like

the one experienced last winter, it is difficult to contain the impact of climate on the fields. It should be noted, however, that the shortage in countries such as the United Kingdom was not due to a lack of product at origin, but to the fact that their operators offered prices below those of the rest of Europe. The product has a value and the markets have realized that they must guarantee profitability. The context has changed,” said Eduardo Córdoba.

In general, producing has become more expensive, and this has had an impact on the production and marketing of freshcut salads. “The higher cost of energy, as well as of other inputs, has reduced the profitability of industrial products. This has led to attempts to boost efficiency, productivity, and automation to try to

make up in part, but not all, for this situation,” says Eduardo Cordoba.

“The consumption of commodity products has slowed down and store brands are once again gaining share”

Until the pandemic hit, the marketing of pre-prepared convenience foods had been growing in terms of volume, while fresh, unprocessed products were holding their own. “Fresh-cut products recorded a significant increase in consumption from March 2020 onwards, with consumers purchasing more staple products, such as iceberg and romaine; products that are quick and easy to prepare. Since then, there has been an overall stabilization in the category and growth is not as lively,” said the company’s CEO. “The sale of commodity products has slowed down, while

store brands are once again gaining share in a context of rising prices. The value of unpackaged fresh produce is on the rise,” he says.

UPWARD TREND OF PAK CHOI SALES CONTINUES Meanwhile, the sales of exotic products such as Pak Choi, of which Primaflor is the largest producer in Spain, continue to grow. This product’s consumption has grown by around 30% in recent years. Germany is the country with the highest consumption and tradition, followed by the UK. Spain is now also jumping on the trend as a result of the growing influence of ethnic and Asian cuisines.

“We have been producing Pak Choi since the 1990’s and it has become one of our flagship crops. We believe the rising

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

trend will continue, given the product’s growing penetration in all European countries. This applies not just to green Pak Choi, which is the most popular, but also to the white varieties or sprouts.”

“THE DROUGHT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY MAKE IT CHALLENGING FOR THE SECTOR TO SUPPLY ITS PRODUCTS” The Spanish southeast remains Europe’s main and most suited area for the open ground production of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and other leafy vegetables, given its mild Mediterranean climate during the autumn and winter months, despite unexpected adversities in specific years. The Region of Murcia has the largest area devoted to this vegetable, and in 2022, some 14,000 hectares were

cultivated there, out of the 34,000 hectares planted with this vegetable in Spain. The regions of Campo de Cartagena and Valle del Guadalentín have the highest production. The east of Almeria and the Region of Valencia are also major producers.

This hegemony in the production of open ground vegetables, however, is being threatened by drought, increasingly raising the concerns of producers. “The drought is an added challenge in a changing context, which is causing the current campaigns to be unlike any of the previous ones. The drought will undoubtedly make it challenging for the sector to supply its products.”

“We usually plan our productions ahead, and later, month by month, we adapt our crops and acreages to the reality of the water supply. Unfortunately, the current situation is not allowing us to plan for the long term, especially given the political context, marked by a lack of solutions and proposals. Agriculture is a strategic sector in Spain and the sector needs global measures and a broad political consensus to ensure the production can be irrigated,” warns Eduardo Córdoba.  mimaflor.es

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fairtrasa.com

THE WORLD’S FIRST 100% REGENERATIVE ORGANIC CERTIFIED® BANANAS Agriculture can heal the planet, and there is a new certification that proves it Regenerative agriculture is becoming a trending term for a good reason.

It is a key solution for the world to combat climate change and ensure food security for the coming generations.

It can increase yields, while making plants healthier and more resistant to extreme weather

— at a time when never before seen storms as well as droughts devastate our harvests with increasing frequency. The world economy emits roughly 50 gigatons of CO2 each year, and it is estimated that if regenerative agriculture was implemented widely, it would bring up to 13 gigatons of that carbon back into the ground, where it would enrich soil life, stop erosion, and restore fertility.

Adopting regenerative agriculture is a clear win for everyone.

It means more than sustainability. Instead of simply not making things worse, it actively restores what we have damaged, healing soils and ecosystems, while improving incomes and security for farmers.

A concept so appealing is unavoidably going to be misused. Over the last years, we have seen many large firms who touted that they are adopting regenerative farming — but in truth, they used these words as window-dressing while continuing with the same industrialized practices.

How can we prove that what we are doing is true regeneration? That the way we practice agriculture is genuinely healing the planet? This is where the Regenerative Organic Alliance, a non-profit organization set up by regenerative pioneers comes into the picture. Six years ago they built a new, rigorous certification scheme to serve as the highest standard of both environmental and social sustainability.

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The Regenerative Organic certification is unique in that in order to apply for it, one has to already be certified as organic as well as Fairtrade. It builds upon the established standards of sustainability — so that it can focus on exceeding them. To achieve Regenerative Organic Certified® status, most farms have to put in years of hard work, avoiding all industrial inputs, typically creating their own compost and using smart intercropping techniques where plants fix nutrients for each other and create a continuous ground cover. They then periodically have to conduct thorough tests, proving that their soil is healthy, rich in organic matter, and always improving.

No one has ever done this in banana cultivation — up until now.

We found the perfect partner for this journey in Ecuador. LatBio, our supply-side partner and co-creator for several years, is a certified B Corp committed to reviving ancestral farming practices combined with the cutting edge of ecological science. Just like we at Fairtrasa, they also manage several social programs, all aimed at helping small-scale farming communities thrive. By finding the right farm that was willing to take the risk of doing something new and supporting it for years, they made it possible to bring to market the world’s first 100% Regenerative Organic Certified® bananas.

Back in 2005, Fairtrasa was the first company to offer Fairtrade avocados to the world.

This is a similarly important step. Our goal is to continue to elevate the standards of social and environmental sustainability for everyone’s benefit.

We believe that our clients will see the advantages.

Buying Regenerative Organic Certified® bananas can make it easier for companies to reach their environmental targets, since regenerative orchards have a much smaller carbon footprint, and they can even be carbon negative. It also means relying on farms that are less disease prone, and ship more consistent quantity and quality, even with irregular weather patterns. Most important of all, however, is that our clients now have a rigorous certification that proves that they have become part of the solution — a member of that pioneering team of companies who have set out to restore soils and help our planet to heal. Let’s ROCk!

Franklin Ginus, Co-CEO, Fairtrasa

If you would like to be among the first companies in the world that bring 100% Regenerative Organic Certified® bananas to consumers, contact

Álvaro de Mingo / +34 917 90 45 12 / alvaro.demingo@fairtrasa.nl

United States

Melissa Hartmann de Barros with HLB Specialties:

“There are so many unknown exotics we could still bring to Europe and the USA” mid-2000s, we started planting Formosa papayas in Mexico, which resulted in the development of the first organic Formosa papaya variety for the US and Canada for large-scale commercial trade.” Traditionally, the USA market was familiar with the Maradol papaya, a yellow, round papaya with a very distinct flavor. Formosa on the other hand, doesn’t have a musky smell and can be eaten with just 2-3 stripes of yellow. With that move, HLB strengthened their market presence in North America, and to date carries several papaya varieties, including their trademarked Samba Papaya variety.

Melissa Hartmann de Barros

Back in 1989, Brazilian native Homero Levy de Barros moved to Germany and founded HLB Tropical Food GmbH. He started as a fish importer, but soon moved into the tropical fruit business. Because of his roots, he had a strong connection to Brazil but also a strong relationship with cargo agents as his wife worked in the cargo department of Lufthansa. Through cargo agents, Levy de Barros was introduced to the Caliman family, one of the biggest papaya growers in Brazil. They started working together and pioneered the European papaya market with air-flown, tree-ripened papayas from Brazil. “Up until then, papayas were a rare commodity and when available, they were immature, green, and lacking flavor,” says Melissa Hartmann de Barros, Homero Levy de Barros’s daughter and Director of Communications at HLB Specialties. “Our efforts in the 1990s created interest and high demand for papayas in Europe.”

hen Brazilian papayas were authorized to enter the United States, HLB decided to continue the success of the product by opening a Florida-based office in 1998. “Once again, we transformed the market by introducing Brazilian, non-GMO papayas by air to the USA

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

and Canada. “Until today, we are still the sole representative for Caliman in the USA.” By 2008, HLB had been involved in the papaya business for 16 years. “With weather patterns changing and competition from Mexico increasing, we felt we needed to diversify. As a result, in the

By 2015, the USA company had changed its name to HLB Specialties and was introducing new items. “We pioneered the 12 oz. retail-ready rambutan clamshell presentation and to date, both HLB companies have the largest retail programs in the USA and European market,” Hartmann de Barros said. “With our tropical background, diversifying into other tropical and exotic items turned out to be a success.” Both companies continued to expand their product line and packaging options, which now include papayas, rambutan, dragon fruit, lychee, mangosteen, guava, ginger, passion fruit, figs, physalis (goldenberries), atemoya, and more. Diversifying into other items proved to be the right decision as in 2023, the HLB Group experienced over 30 percent growth for the third year in a row. “It allowed us to solidify our position as the preferred partner in the tropical fruit business,” Hartmann de Barros commented. RELATIONSHIPS WITH GROWERS IN SOUTH AMERICA Most tropical and exotic fruit items are sourced from Central and South America. For the past 30 years, the company has counted the Americas as their main production area, including Brazil, Peru Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the USA. What helped in developing relationships with growers in Central America is that Hartmann de Barros’ husband, Andrés Ocampo (now CEO of HLB Specialties), is Colombian and a native Spanish speaker. He has been involved in the company since 2003 and

has been building relationships in Central America for 20 years. More recently, in the last three years, Asian and African countries were added to HLB’s pool of suppliers. “The strong relationships we have with growers in all these different countries of origin is the basis for

our success,” shared Hartmann de Barros. “Now, we carry seven different papaya varieties from four different countries. While papayas grow year-round, we have learned that it is also a very temperamental and difficult crop to grow. Even though the last two years have been very

challenging for papayas, sourcing from different countries and varieties helps offset the dips in production.” A combination of diversification of products, varieties, and countries of origin has helped both HLB companies grow.

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

United States

Lorenz Hartmann

As many of these exotic items originate from Southeast Asia, how have countries in Central America been able to start growing these crops? “In the early 20th century, governments in Central America brought seeds from thriving Southeast Asian crops that were growing in similar climates. In 1925, rambutan was introduced to Lancetilla, a famous botanical garden in Honduras. For many years, the plants and fruits were tested, and small areas were developed. It wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s when production really took off and rambutan firmly established itself in a country like Honduras. In the 21st century, commercial growth and expansion followed because of the appetite of countries with more buying power for exotic fruits. In addition to Honduras, rambutan is now also grown commercially in Guatemala and Southern Mexico.

ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES While HLB already offers a large variety of tropicals and exotics, Central American countries grow many more exotics that are still completely unknown.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we can bring to consumers,” said Lorenz Hartmann de Barros, CEO of the German HLB Tropical Food GmbH company and son of the company’s founder. “Because Europe allows for the import of many more tropical fruits, we are able to receive and test out new varieties and exotics. Add to that the relationships we are building with growers in Asia and Africa and the potential is just incalculably large,” he remarked. Not only are there endless opportunities for supply, but demand also continues to increase. “It remains high and newer generations are especially open to trying new items,” Hartmann de Barros commented. Consumption of unique exotics is highest during the cold winter months, starting in October. That’s when the season of local crops in Europe and the USA slows down and imports of exotic fruits increase. It’s also when summertime in the southern hemisphere starts, and the seasons of many growing countries kick in. “We always notice that November and December are especially busy for our company

in Germany,” he said. HLB enjoys being a one-stop shop for exotics and will continue to be on the lookout for new and exciting items for their customers in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan.  melissa@hlbspec.com

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Stand 4C13 - Pavilion 4

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With us your fruit is in good hands. From arrival at the port to collection from our storage; we offer your product the best possible treatment. In our storage locations in Vlissingen and Kruiningen, the products are subjected to a quality check, after which they are stored and kept at the desired temperature until you want to transport the products further.

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As a grower, your biggest wish is to produce your crops with the best quality and yield, better post-harvest, and excellent resistance. At KWS we know this and we are invested in assisting you on this journey. Therefore, we are building our new facilities in Almeria and Murcia which covers over 32 hectares, where offices, laboratories and greenhouses will be located. From here our breeders will develop the best tomato, pepper, cucumber, melon and watermelon seeds for you! With a team of vegetable seed specialists with an adventurous and pioneering spirit, we are seeding the future!

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WE’RE ADDING VALUE IN PACKHOUSE SOLUTIONS Burg Machinefabriek supplies tray fillers to Dutch packaging company The current trend of using less and less packaging material is not only creating more work for packaging designers, but also for machine manufacturers. Apart from the BFI ‘Flowpack’ machine, Burg Machinefabriek also designed a tray filler. Recently, Vogelaar Vredehof acquired a series of BTI lines that pack multiple apples in a tray with flaps. With a capacity of up to 65 trays per minute, this machine offers the possibility to pack 4, 5, 6 or even 8 fruits per tray, which gives it a strong market position, as its competitors only manage 40 trays per minute. Are you also curious about how to optimise your production facilities? Please contact our Spanish-speaking sales manager or our local distributor in Chile or Spain. adenherder@burgmachinery.com cmoreno@clautec.cl / a.llaguerri@manter.com

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

China

China’s long-term fruit game Agriculture has historically held significant importance in China’s leadership and government due to its central role in the country’s economy, food security, and social stability. This importance has not diminished with time. As recent as last year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply disruptions and lockdown-induced food shortages affected the inhabitants of Shanghai and other major cities. It seems that even today, the system remains vulnerable to food insecurities. FOOD AND FRUIT IMPORTS Despite the efforts of China’s leadership to become more self-sufficient as a nation, China’s imports of fresh fruit items continue to grow. As a result, China’s population is becoming increasingly dependent on food imports.

China’s population accounts for 17.5% of the world’s population, yet its land only contains 10% of the globe’s arable land. This land is under pressure from climate

change and structural mismanagement of the environment and soil quality.

China’s demand for imported fruit will continue to grow. Out of China’s estimated population of 1.5 billion, the consumer group with potential interest in imported fruit and vegetables is estimated at 163 million. These are the middle- to high-income categories that can afford imported fresh produce. This number, too, is set to grow significantly.

According to data from UN Comtrade (2018), China’s fruit import value grew from 47 million USD in 2008 to 1.4 million USD in 2018. The import value of Chilean cherries grew from 8 million USD to almost 2 billion in the 2022-23 cherry season.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND TRADE Exporting fruits to China is a business that comes with strict protocols in order to receive market access. Only fruit varieties from countries, or regions, listed on China’s access fruit list can be imported into China. This information can be accessed at the website of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. Often for fresh produce, admission to this list requires bilaterally negotiated requirements, which vary by product and by place of origin. The process of obtaining market access might take years. One AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

China

of the peculiarities is that from each place of origin, only one product can be in the process of receiving market access. Achieving market access can be a lengthy and technical process. Dutch pears, for example, needed seven years of lobbying before being allowed to enter the Chinese market. Yet, it took Polish apples

only three years to achieve the same. One rule of thumb is that a product from a certain country is likely to be accepted more quickly if a similar product from another region has been granted market access. In addition, rules that apply to similar products from different regions form precedents and will have to abide by new

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applications.Another example is Spanish persimmons, which received market access earlier in May 2023. The negotiations about this fruit started in 2016. Next on the list are cherries. In addition to persimmons, Spain can export citrus, preaches, and plums to China.

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In 2022, South African pears received market access to China. This happened after, according to HortGro, a whopping 18 years of negotiations. The next big crop from South Africa, for which the industry has recently received market access, is the country’s fresh avocado.

The process of negotiating and receiving market access is a political one. Optimists in the South African avocado industry were proven right when South African avocadoes were granted market access alongside the 15th annual BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in August this year. It seems the tropical fruit is part of a larger effort to mitigate the ever-growing trade imbalance between China and Africa. According to a report from the South China Morning Post, China is seeking to address its trade imbalance with Africa, with total trade with the continent hitting US$254bn in 2021. Most of the trade is done in China’s favor. China has identified agricultural imports from Africa as one of the areas for growth. Last year President Xi Jinping promised to import US$300bn of African agricultural produce by 2025. In August, part of this promise was settled successfully when South African Minister of Agriculture Thoko Didiza signed an agreement with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for the export of avocados. Market access can also be reversed, albeit sometimes temporarily. This typically

happens alongside political movements or tension. In August this year, China suspended imports of Taiwan mangoes, blaming pests. China’s General Administration of Customs has asked Taiwan to improve its quarantine management mechanism.

FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS A country that has been very successful in negotiating market access, and is benefiting from its rewards, is Chile. The country’s success has not come overnight. One of the factors that underline Chile’s success in China is the free trade agreement the two countries signed as early as 2005. This made Chile the first South American country to establish diplomatic trade relations with China. Since then, gradually, the number of Chilean fruits that received market access has steadily grown. For over two decades, Chilean government leaders and diplomats have seen the potential of the Chinese market and acted accordingly. Over the years the country has conducted a structured effort of sending trade delegations and politicians to negotiate bilateral trade agreements.

shipped as much as 90% of their crop to China.

There are only a handful of examples of Chinese investments in Southern African orchards, where farms have been purchased. Yet, this development is more common in neighboring Southeast Asia. Importers are not only investing in cold storage facilities and warehouses; some investors are also purchasing farms. In the past five years, road networks between Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the southern areas of China have become more accessible, helping to boost land transport in the region. Perhaps in certain aspects, China seems to become more isolated from the world. This includes rising trade tensions, and limitations on certain technology and commodity trades, including chip technologies. However, regarding the international trade of agricultural commodities and fresh produce, every year China’s connectivity with the world continues to grow. As do opportunities for international fruit growers and shippers. 

ACQUISITION OF FOREIGN ORCHARDS AND FARMLANDS Online The China Project has reported that since 2021, local Chilean newspapers have written about Chinese companies purchasing arable lands and orchards in Chile. After the acquisition, the orchards

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

Francis Martos, manager of Natura DP

“After this season’s experience, some Dutch producers may consider investing to increase their commercial activity” The watermelon and melon campaign has put an end to a difficult season in the greenhouses of the Spanish province of Almeria, where the heat and phytosanitary issues have caused the loss of many productions, and there have been moments of tension in the supply.

“T

he campaign started badly, but volumes gradually recovered. In Natura DP’s case, zucchini were especially affected due to the impact of viruses, but other products (tomatoes, cucumbers and some bell peppers) did quite well, including those grown organically,” said Francis Martos. “In the final part of the campaign, which has been devoted to melons and watermelons, we have been exporting almost the entire volume to the Netherlands and Germany, and we are very happy, as even though there has been much variability in terms of prices, on average things have gone well and our final results can be considered positive.”

In fact, looking at the provisional export figures from FEPEX, based on data from the Spanish Department of Customs and Excise corresponding to the first half of 2023, the average export prices for melons and watermelons have stood at 0.74

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

and 0.95 € / kg, respectively; averages with which it has been possible to overcome the critical situation experienced by both products in Almeria between weeks 19 and 21, when unfavorable weather conditions in Europe took a negative toll on the demand and prices collapsed.

“Our growers are very happy with the results,” says Francis. “Regarding the melon varieties for export, we have practically not worked with any Galia due to the negative experience of our growers in recent years, so we have focused on yellow melons, and handled also a bit of Cantaloupe.” This season, the acreage devoted to the Galia has been reduced across the board in Almeria due to strong competition from non-EU productions, mainly “from overseas and Morocco,” as confirmed in its latest report by the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Government of Andalusia, which revealed that,

Francis Martos

this season, large European retailers have extended their contracts with overseas providers, “to the detriment of their purchases in Almeria.”

POSITIVE BALANCE FOR VEGETABLES Even though the development of Almeria’s season has been erratic, it has ended on a positive note. The Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers’ Organizations of the province of Almeria, Coexphal, presented an analysis of the 2022/23 campaign following its completion, revealing that the marketed production has grown by 1% thanks to a sharp increase in the melon and watermelon volume, and that prices increased by 10%, contributing to a 12% increase in the sector’s total turnover. Tomato sales remained stable, and prices and revenues increased by 9%. Bell peppers recorded the best results in financial terms, with a significant 13% drop in their production that caused prices to increase by 46%, resulting in a 27% higher revenue than in the previous season. As for cucumbers, the production fell by 2%, but prices increased by 15% and the revenue by 13%. Eggplant and zucchini have shown a more erratic performance throughout the season. The former’s production has fallen by 3%, but average prices eventually rose to an unexpected 26%, and revenues by 22%. Zucchini recorded a 4% growth in sales, with a price increase of 12%. As a consequence, total revenues are up 17%.

The Netherlands maintains its sales “making up for the fall in its production with re-exports from other origins”

Coexphal also highlighted how “the Netherlands has managed to maintain its sales by making up for the drop in its own production (a consequence of the high cost of energy, which forced many of the country’s greenhouses to shut down) with re-exports from other origins.”

This year, at least for now, the drop in the price of gas and electricity - as well as of fertilizers or fuels – should allow Dutch greenhouses to recover their production levels in autumn and winter.

“It seems that producers in the Netherlands have again managed to get gas contracts at a reasonable price, which is what they were lacking last year, as confirmed in the meetings we have been holding in the Netherlands. However, the situation

Specialist in apples, pears and strawberries

is still different compared to years ago, when gas was a very cheap commodity,” said Francis.

“Our group there, Frankort & Koning, is a giant in fruit and vegetable production and will again manage to produce at the same level as in the years prior to the crisis. However, some Dutch producers are considering the idea of quitting investing in their own production and engaging in more purely commercial activity, given how re-exports have been the only profitable activity this campaign.” 

BP FruitCraft BVBA Heerstraat 16A, 3470 Kortenaken Tel. +32 11960939 Wendy Bangels +32 470951032 Tim Pittevils +32 470957905

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The Netherlands

Rail offers opportunities for fruit and vegetables too “The fruit and vegetable sector still mostly considers trucks, but that need not be so,” begins Dennis de Roo, a Van Donge & De Roo (D&R) management member. He sees opportunities for rail transport. D&R, a Dutch logistics service provider, does, among other things, 40 weekly train trips with a 100 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacity. “I see plenty of opportunities there, but people won’t try the unfamiliar. That’s certainly the challenge in the fruit and vegetable sector and something we’ll have to work on in the coming years.”

ennis deems it necessary to use rail transport more often. He explains that the changing climate means water levels in the Rhine are increasingly too low for barge traffic. “Things aren’t going to change. Large lakes are drying up, and

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

glaciers are melting, so the Rhine’s water level is low more and more often, which limits the barges’ capacity. We then can no longer fully load those. So, at certain times you need a different modality,

trains come into the picture. High or low water doesn’t affect them,” he says.

EFFICIENT MIX Here, Dennis sees room for a mix of modalities. “Trucks, trains, and barges complement each other. Say you receive ten containers of oranges in the Port of Rotterdam that must go to Duisburg in Germany. Transport one by truck, and it gets there quickly. Two go on the train. The truck that delivered the one container can then shuttle to transport those two to their final destination. The remaining seven containers can go by barge.” He notes that this is how you can make the most efficient combinations. “Making efficient, smart combinations means the

different modes can enrich the supply chain,” says Dennis.

Costs can also play a role. The logistics provider points out that although the rail infrastructure costs are high and disproportionate to those of trucks or inland shipping, trains are cheaper than trucks. “Rail transport is cheaper than road transport. An LHV (Longer, Heavier Vehicle) can carry, at most, three TEUs; a train can carry 100 TEUs on a better route, for example, to Duisburg. Despite the expensive infrastructure, on balance, trains cost less than trucks.”

This disadvantage does not apply to inland shipping. “That may be slower, but you can connect the container to keep it cool, which makes up for the slowness.”

Regardless of the mode, those containers must be transported. D&R handles 700,000 of them annually. After the last few turbulent logistics years, Dennis sees things are more or less back to normal. “We’re kind of back to the old level. Prices have dropped from $15,000 to $1,500 and below. That’s what it used to be. There’s enough capacity and less volume,”he notes, adding that it also means no more higher margins.

lead and give direction, but people have the decision-making power to ultimately stay in control,” he reckons. D&R, thus, has an office in every time zone, so clients can always reach them and not have to make do with a taped message.

Dennis notes that where technology advances, human productivity lags. That leaves room for a different interpretation of operations, where people can primarily focus on customer contact and personal attention. “Data entry should be done mechanically, while employees should do the more intelligent work like consulting.” That requires a different approach and staff deployment.

Worlds best in fresh fruit & vegetables forwarding

IN TRANSIT FOR UP TO 48 HOURS A downside of rail transport is the frequent lack of power sockets to plug in the containers. Though that is not a problem for all products, De Roo points out. “A refrigerated container not plugged in loses 1°C every 24 hours. So, if fruit and vegetables take between 24 and 48 hours, at most, from the terminal to the final destination, you lose 1 to 2°C. So, you can use the train. That’s not an option for some products, but for many, it is,” he explains.

Fruit Ripening

PERSONAL ATTENTION “I’ll have to make a plan if I want to keep my margins as is, if my customers aren’t willing to pay more.” That is why D&R is increasingly betting on automation, though Dennis does not want his service to become impersonal. Service and personal contact remain important. “That’s a high priority, and I want to move more and more towards combining technology and personal attention. The system must

Services:

D&R does that via on-the-job training, including instruction videos used during client contact to show which steps must be taken in which situations. “That’s so employees understand what they’re doing. In the learning process, attention is paid to both the process and knowledge,” Dennis concludes.  d.deroo@dutch-head.nl

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

Pre-election politics, a World Heritage Site, social media and a historic drought. And Spanish strawberries in the middle of it all

“The strawberry industry is not using water from illegal sources in the Doñana National Park” The 2022/23 strawberry campaign has come to a close with a production totaling 243,310 tons. This is 10% less than last year; a result of the weather, which took a toll from the very beginning of the campaign, during the planting phase, when the heat made it necessary to replant almost 30% of the seedlings, delaying the entry into production of millions of plants.

owever, Huelva strawberries recorded higher prices than in the previous year, which al-lowed the value to remain in line with that of the 2021/22 campaign, with almost 571 mil-lion Euro. This has been really welcome for a sector

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

that has had to deal with an explo-sive mix of factors this year, including pre-election politics, the threat to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, the unlimited reach of social media and, unfortu-nately, a great lack of informati-

on about how strawberries are produced in the province of Huelva.

STRAWBERRIES GROWN “EVEN IN WINTER”? A few months ago, CAMPACT started a campaign against Spanish strawberries ad-dressed to 7 managers of German supermarket chains. The dilapidatory message start-ed with the sentence: “To allow the delivery of cheap strawberries to German supermar-kets, Spain’s natural world heritage site of Doñana is drying up.”

Maps from the CSIC Meteorological Drought Monitor corresponding to the month of June in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 and 2023 (in rows, from left to right). OpenStreetMap® is open data, licensed under an Open database license of Open Data Commons (ODbL) by the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF).

As encouraged by Campact, we invested just 5 minutes on its own platform, reading the information about the initiative, which contains incendiary fragments that helped us un-derstand the repercussion in Germany of the petition asking “Edeka or Lidl to stop selling strawberries from drought-affected areas.” It is claimed that “the Doñana National Park could dry up forever”, that “The Andalusian Regional Government (...) is allowing farms to steal water” or that “imported strawberries are usually significantly cheaper than German strawberries because harvest workers are exploited in Spain.” Campact says that “no-body standing behind a fruit counter would be able to guess if the strawberries were grown with illegal water,” and a reader could easily get carried away by this message, without realizing that Spanish strawberries are not grown artificially “even in winter” (as the text highlights several times), but that this is their natural growing cycle in Huelva’s latitude. BUT, WHAT DID THIS ALL LEAD TO? Last April, a month and a half before the municipal elections in Andalusia, the Andalusian Parliament greenlighted a bill presented by (conservatives) PP and Vox to expand irriga-tion in Doñana to what was estimated at 800 hectares. It did so unwittingly, since it knew the bill would be opposed by Spain’s Central Government, by the European Union, which immediately threatened Spain with a

new fine for not protecting Doñana; and by envi-ronmentalists and the scientific community. They also didn’t expect that the measure would give new strength to movements such as that of Campact, understandably raising concerns in the entire production and export sector, and causing entities of undoubted international prestige, such as NASA, to set their sights on the site and contribute new points of view to the water problem - in their case, a satellite point of view - in this year of severe drought across Europe. It is true that Doñana is in danger, although there are multiple causes for it. As NASA points out, the problem is that the aquifer that feeds Doñana reaches beyond the bound-aries of the park, and urban and agricultural water consumption in the areas with no pro-tection measures has an impact on the amount of water the site receives. Moreover, the prolonged drought in southern Spain is not helping in the recovery of groundwater or sur-face water volumes.

“False information is being shared, accusing the sector of severe misconduct and of committing illegal actions” The little more than 6,200 hectares of strawberries in Huelva, which according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, only represent 0.037% of the cultivated area in Spain and 0.17% of the total irrigated area in the country, produce 30%

of the strawberries of the entire European Union. And Germany, along with the United Kingdom, which despite Brexit has surpassed France in the import of Spanish strawberries, are the main destina-tions for Huelva’s berries.

Back in the day, Interfresa was forced to publicly demand rigorous information before what it considered to be a “harmful campaign to the whole strawberry and berry industry, as well as its workers, since it was spreading information that was false and accusing the sector of severe misconduct and of committing illegal actions.”

After being consulted once again, they cited the information they had already published at the time. “It is false that ‘the strawberry industry is using water from illegal sources in the Doñana National Park’ or that ‘huge amounts of water are being pumped’.”

“It is important that we all know that there are no agricultural crops in Doñana National Park, neither berries nor any others. The closest farms to Doñana are 35 km away from the natural area and the vast majority of companies in the berry sector grow crops 100 km or more away from the Northern Crown. It is important to understand, moreover, that in this environment, far from Doñana, berries are not the only crop grown, and agriculAGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Spain

ture in general is a source of wealth for the region.”

Interfresa also explained to FreshPlaza that “currently, savings and efficiency strategies target every aspect of the area’s agronomic activity: irrigation, fertilization and phytosani-tary control. Very efficient irrigation installations have become widespread, and these al-low a high degree of control over water inputs while minimizing electricity consumption (examples: solar irrigation, automation, new technologies in irrigation emitters, etc.)”.

They also highlighted the role that technological tools are playing in optimizing

the man-agement of resources, allowing a more accurate definition of the crops’ water needs, as well as greater control over how irrigation is carried out.” This is allowing “more productivi-ty in the use of irrigation water and a reduction in the water footprint of farms.”

Fortunately for producers, prices at origin were not affected after the campaign

According to data from the Government of Andalusia, prices rose in the final stretch of the campaign. In week 19, prices at origin increased by 15.4% compared to the previous week, standing at 1.61 €/ kg, well above the 1.07 €/kg reached in the same week of the 2021/22 campaign.

In week 20, the campaign was practically over, although there were still some traders op-erating with small volumes. In view of the shortage in the supply, prices at origin again recorded a 7.4% increase, to 1.72 €/kg (compared to 1.16 €/kg in the same week of the previous season). Strawberries from Spain stopped trading in German wholesale markets in week 21, in the midst of a controversy that we hope everyone, without exception, has learned something from. 

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France

“Spanish growers focus on producing a low-cost product, but investments could result in better results” The journey of the Spanish greenhouse industry, especially in the realm of tomato cultivation, is a dance between conventional methodologies and emerging technologies. Although a significant portion of production remains entrenched in traditional practices, the industry’s gradual embrace of advanced techniques, including hydroponics and modern types of greenhouses, paints a picture of potential growth and adaptation, says Pierre Moulin, responsible for the Spanish market at the greenhouse building company Richel Greenhouses.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

“T

he yield per square meter can increase significantly with the right technologies, and so can the total turnover and profit of a company – but driven by high interest rates and competition from Morocco, many growers currently focus on producing a low-cost product.” Possibly, newly installed governmental subsidies will enable growers to take the leap. “We hope that growers can see what’s possible from one of the newly installed projects.”

“The majority of the Spanish greenhouse acreage, approximately 80%, consists of the traditional Almerian greenhouse: the Raspa y Amagado or Parral,” says Pierre. This traditional Parral or Raspa y Amagado greenhouse is a simple coat of plastic on a structure made of wire and galvanized pipes, or even wood, making it hard to actively control the climate. “The Spanish climate is favorable for growing vegetables: the temperature is never under 10 degrees, and there’s enough light to grow vegetables. And one of the strengths of the Spanish market is them being able to produce without much technology in winter. The industry’s ability to produce without heavy technological interventions, such as artificial lighting and advanced climate control, is for sure a commendable strength,” he sees. However, it simultaneously acts as a constraint, limiting the sector’s capacity for further optimization and innovation. Welcome to the vegetable garden of Europe. In Spain, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, there are accounted just over 45,000 hectares of tomato cultivation, producing more than 3 and a half million tons per year. Of these 45,000 hectares, almost 29,000 are open fields while about 15,600 are protected, greenhouse, or tunnel. According to the governmental numbers, Andalusia is the community that has the largest area of greenhouses dedicated to tomatoes, about 12,000 hectares.

“Another 20% of the greenhouse acreage consists of multi-span poly greenhouses, which is also what we offer to the market. These greenhouses are higher, have more volume, which enables growers to stabilize the climate in their greenhouse. Also, thanks to the construction and the sustainable coverings, more light falls on the crop,” Pierre says. “It enables growers to make the most out of the resources available: land, water, irrigation, fertigation.” He adds that other types of greenhouses were evaluated in Spain. “Over the last years, also two Venlo-style greenhouses have been realized, which is the

typical model from the Dutch horticulture. These two are adapted for specialty tomatoes, but in general, realizing such a greenhouse doesn’t make much sense as the costs are high in reference to the additional production realized – which is what matters most, after all.”

As an example, he refers to the Abdera Green Farms greenhouse in Spain, a specialist in the production of cherry tomatoes. “The Multispan greenhouse with 6.5 meters under the gutter and 10 meters at the ridge brings better temperature homogeneity and cooler air, thanks to the white painted columns. By eliminating hot spots, optimal brightness is ensured.” This grower also opted for energy-saving and shading screens. “The objective was to have a very bright greenhouse, to maximize tomato production in winter and minimize humidity. And thanks to the technologies installed and the investment made, this was achieved. Throughout winter, continuous quality and higher production can be reached.”

Yet, despite these advantages, growers are not adopting these technologies on a larger scale. “Currently we see mainly specialized companies, such as young plant producers or seed companies, opting for the Multispan greenhouses. We also see that visionary growers in the production of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers also make the transition to this model – but it’s going slowly.” According to Pierre, a big part of the Spanish industry’s focus is on price-driven competitiveness, AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

France

is the issue of water availability, particularly in regions like Murcia. Then there’s labor, which despite not being urgent in Spain yet, is expected to be more stringent in the future.

To address this concern, the government has initiated incentives to promote modernization and water-efficient practices: there are subsidies enabling growers to lower the investment needed for a new greenhouse or new technologies. For this, Brussels has approved 120 million euros in aid, taken from the recovery funds of the European Union, for Spain to support the transformation and modernization of greenhouses for vegetables, cut flowers, and ornamental plants.

rather than innovative breakthroughs, which has somewhat stymied its potential to harness advanced technologies for improved production outcomes. “Instead of looking at the potential of increasing production and quality by adapting technologies, many growers focus solely on the lowest price. This is driven by competition from Morocco and by the focus in the Spanish market, where a great focus also lies on the lowest price, even more focus than on quality.”

The team at Hydroponic Systems recognizes this situation. The Spanish company offers easy-to-install systems to transition to growing hydroponically or to start hydroponic businesses. The sales team points out that in 2022, tomato production was 11,000 hectares lower than in 2021. “But of those 11,000, about 90% was open field; greenhouses remained the vast majority. This can tell us that the durability and profitability of a tomato

greenhouse are greater, or the ability to withstand crisis situations, whether economic or climatic.” However, they also see the industry is moving to more technical growing systems only very slowly. “From our experience, we do not have many cases of customers switching from soil to hydroponics; usually, our customers were already growing hydroponically or soilless and want to try our systems because they are more efficient. Therefore, we see a slight trend towards hydroponics, without big increases. It requires a significant investment, and not everyone is willing to make it; in that sense, many Spanish farmers are not yet at the level of innovation of other countries, such as Holland, for example.”

GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT The Spanish industry is of vital importance to Spain itself and to Europe, but it is also facing new challenges. One of the critical challenges faced by the industry

Stand 6C14 Pavilion 6

“The subsidies were announced two years ago, and six months ago, the first projects have started thanks to this support. And I think that people need to see other people taking the leap, showing they can prove they make profits out of the technology, of the land, and resources available. Some tomatoes producers are able to produce up to 25kg/m² with good technology, while it’s hard to produce more than 12kg/m² in a Raspa y Amagado greenhouse. Pierre is assured the noteworthy projects, stand as potential harbingers of change. “We see big players like Perichan, Paloma, and Bonnysa currently combine both forms of production. These enterprises have the potential to illuminate the profitability associated with embracing advanced greenhouse techniques, motivating their peers to follow suit.”  Pierre.moulin@richel.fr marketing@hydroponicsystems.es

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Germany

Dieter Stubenbordt, owner and managing director of Stubenbordt & Co., grows vegetables on ¬-some 800 hectares in the Palatinate vegetable garden:

“We are marketing some 200,000 to 300,000 spring onions a day”

them with the service of getting produce from us 365 days a year.”

Originally, the company’s customer base still included wholesalers, but that changed in 1999 when the first food retail customers were added. “We are supplying both conventional food retailers and discounters,” says Stubenbordt. “Adjustments along the supply chain are mostly handled by the distributors. These will give us, growers, the specifications issued by the retail chains, whereupon we adjust production accordingly.”

Rebecca and Dieter Stubenbordt

The Stubenbordt family has been involved in vegetable production for over four generations. In 1996, owner and managing director Dieter Stubenbordt took over the Zeiskam company from his father. What started with 60 hectares at the end of the 1990s has now grown to 805 hectares. Dieter and Rebecca Stubenbordt, who will continue the family tradition, gave us a look behind the scenes of the company. “We currently have about 600 employees. Throughout the year, we have between 2,000 and 2,500 seasonal workers, of which 80 are permanent employees,” Rebecca Stubenbordt explains. In order to maintain good crop rotation, an additional 200 hectares of rotation land is leased in addition to the land already under cultivation. ABLE TO DELIVER YEAR-ROUND “Another grower co-produces goods for us, which makes us more independent of the weather. Last but not least, we want to guarantee the availability of goods to those customers who buy their entire stock from us. If a fresh vegetable is not

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

available in the desired quantity for one or two days because the harvest is not possible in the usual way due to the weather, we try to buy in goods from other producers in order to serve our customers. In the end, it’s about satisfying customers 100 percent and providing

EUROPE-WIDE CUSTOMER STRUCTURE Until a few years back, the company was able to generate a large part of its sales through export business. Since then, however, the company is focusing more on the domestic market. “Due to the sharp increase in the minimum wage, German vegetable exports have been severely restricted, as it were. As soon as very high temperatures occur in the south of Europe, we are able to offer products in countries such as Spain and France, as production stagnates with them at those times. In the north, on the other hand, goods are almost always needed, as little grows there. Our diverse customer base ranges from Norway to Greece.”

Among the largest export countries are the Netherlands and Belgium. “Dutch interest in our goods is quite high. In addition to this, our neighbor has excellent logistical structures. If we want to deliver our goods to Denmark, Great Britain or Scandinavia, it makes sense to cooperate with a trader in the Netherlands. In some cases, even products we only export to Poland in individual pallets are routed via the Netherlands, as this is easier.”

STRONGEST ITEMS: SPRING ONIONS, RADISHES AND PAK CHOI “We are marketing between 200,000 to 300,000 spring onions every day. This is by far our strongest sales article, followed by radishes and pak choi. Pak choi is already in the top third in terms of sales. But celery, Chinese cabbage, white radish

and herbs like flat and curly parsley are part of our assortment as well. We have removed lettuce from our range because we lack the optimum customer structure,” says Stubenbordt.

In the past, there were still several packing lines on his farm, but these were sold off. “We place a lot of emphasis on offering mainly fresh and open vegetables. In most cases, the produce is sold as quickly as five to six hours after harvest, but no later than the following day. The produce is prepared, washed and delivered directly to us.” In the process, the entire assortment is marketed independently. “For spring onions and pak choi, we can also access grower farms abroad that will produce these goods for us exclusively. In winter, the farms prepare it, transport it to us, whereupon it is then processed -

according to the customers’ ideas. Some customers help themselves to the assortment of fresh vegetables all year round. During the winter, our customers use us as a service provider.”

LOOKING AHEAD AT GERMANY’S LARGEST OPEN-GROUND VEGETABLEGROWING REGION The Palatinate is considered the largest contiguous cultivation area for open-ground vegetables in Germany. In order to better communicate the importance of this vegetable cluster, unique in Europe, for supply security, Stubenbordt is deliberately looking further ahead. In the Palatinate area, high-performing fruit and vegetable growers from the region have come together. These consist of independent and Palatinate mar-

ket growers and cultivate fruit and vegetables on more than 9,000 hectares.

So far in the current growing year, his farm has been spared from storms, he said. “It was relatively wet in the spring, which caused failures due to powdery mildew. Since then, there was a dry period of six to eight weeks. However, this is a phenomenon that has been known for years, and we know how to deal with it. We always have to irrigate; certainly when we are sowing. There were no major problems this year. It only gets difficult when it rains too much, because we can handle drought well thanks to our irrigation system.” Production costs have risen consistently over the years, he said, even regardless of the crises. “Certainly, costs have risen disproportionately in recent years, not least due to the increased minimum wage. Labor costs also vary by item. Despite this, however, the basic product is very cheap. This circumstance is represented only in the media often consumed. In itself, the price of fruit and vegetables should even be significantly higher to be able to sufficiently cover the production costs”.  www.stubenbordt.de

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

France

Could climate and economic change affect the organization of European markets? While French shelves are currently filled with an important part of imported fruit and vegetables, it seems that the shifting economic and climatic context may bring some changes in the coming years. Alexandre Picault - Sales Director of Kultive, French leader in cucumber production and specialist in greenhouse vegetables believes in a local development strategy, which he has been pursuing since 1985. “Kultive’s leitmotiv has always been to be as close as possible to the means of production and to the consumer, in order to best meet national demand. Increasingly, global warming is showing us that we were right to think alike, as the imported product may be less available in the very near future”. MEDITERRANEAN PRODUCE IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE Although all countries are affected by increasingly recurrent climatic events, some suffer more than others, with decreasing yields from year to year. “Let us take the last cucumber season as an example: Spain has experienced heat waves of up to 45 degrees. No trouble to imagine that growing cucumbers in this

scorching climate is particularly difficult. Producing and replanting plants at these temperatures is more than complicated. Therefore, planting time in Spain could suffer a delay, resulting in lower availability later in the calendar as well as higher and less competitive prices. In this particular case, the situation could benefit French cucumbers, with less competition from abroad on their own market. AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

France

BENELUX PRODUCT IMPACTED BY THE ECONOMIC CONTEXT Spain may be a significant competitor for French cucumbers, but the ones coming from Netherlands and Belgium overlap the most with the French production schedule. “The Benelux countries don’t have the same business model as we have, their market organization is different. They benefit from huge investments from financial groups. While we focus with our cucumbers on the domestic market, they specialize in exports. Before the energy crisis, they were very competitive in terms of price. Their climate and cheap energy allowed them to light their greenhouses and thus achieve much higher yields than us. Moreover, they were able to source and produce their own inputs cheaper than we could. They could also benefit from low-priced labor from Eastern Europe, which is less available today. *

“In this changing economic context, they will have to face the same issues as we do in terms of labor and energy. Moreover, since they are focused on exports, they are dependent on foreign markets, some of which have recently closed. Some-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

times they supply countries only in times of production shortages, which means that when this domestic supply is filled with its own production, they can stand with a surplus of merchandise. Nowadays, economic constraints impact their production activity more than climatic constraints, and this makes them even less competitive regarding French produce. Our big advantage here is that we produce French cucumbers for the French market. So, unlike the Benelux countries, we are not dependent on the markets of other European countries. STRENGTHENING THE FRENCH SUPPLY: THE ROLE OF DISTRIBUTION In the current situation and counting uncertainties, making major investments may prove difficult for some growers. Distribution has a role to play in enabling producers to invest with some certainty: “Generally speaking, I’m very surprised that distributors don’t try harder to get closer to production and contract more. While prices can indeed fluctuate over the season, last years, the trend has clearly been upwards. So why not commit more? Especially since produc-

ers are keen to do so. Today, the level of investment is such that they don’t dare take the step without a guarantee, which is actually very comprehensible. Many distributors ask them to produce first, before talking about marketing. Today, this operating model is no longer possible. Producer profiles have changed: the younger generations are more involved in and following the economic dimension. They want to know what the medium and long terms prospects are before developing their business”. According to Alexandre Picault, it would therefore be necessary for retailers to become more aware of the need to change the production model, in order to consolidate French supply. “Growers are faced with more and more constraints when it comes to producing: climatic, economic and social constraints, not to mention the decline in active ingredients, which adds to the other difficulties. They clearly know what is required today: they need to produce better and healthier products. But never forget that growers are more willing to accept constraints if they can get commercial guarantees”.

Aline Pommier - Foissy sur Vanne

REGIONAL SUPPLY STRATEGY TO THE FRENCH DEMAND? In the meantime, France must continue to organize and adapt to its national demand from the beginning to the end of the season: “We are helped by some distributors who play the game with us from spring onwards, starting with the most

critical period of the season. But we also have to be careful to ensure continuity of supply in the middle of the season - from June 15 to around July 14, when a shortage often takes place - so that distributors don’t turn to import in order to meet demand. Once this switch to other origins has been made, and especially during the

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Gregoire Leriche

summer vacations, it can be difficult for French cucumbers to regain their place on the shelves. One solution would be to regionalize production, for example by expanding in the south to compensate for production shortfalls in the north, and to adapt to climatic constraints and better meet the needs of the French market.

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France

petitive quality product regarding Spanish early cucumbers. This is important to remember: at the start of the season, French flag counts, while towards the end, quality does.

Claire Gacoin - Val De Vesle

Playing and shifting with the production calendar could also be an option. Not to forget that we also need to manage the end of the season as well, with a com-

DIFFERENT OPTIONS TO SUPPORT FRENCH PRODUCTION Nowadays, manpower remains one of the main constraints on French production: “Growers are finding it extremely difficult to find staff to work in the greenhouses. We can name some examples of growers who have the capacity to reinvest in greenhouse development but can’t find anyone to run their crop. With the development of technology, could picking robots be able to help in this respect in the future? I wonder”.

Finally, although Kultive’s primary aim is to meet the needs of the French market, the current changing economic and climatic context could well lead the company to export to Europe in the years to come: “We did already export, but that was more to absorb the ups of French production in relation to our domestic market demand. In the next 10 years, other Mediterranean countries could demand French products if they can no longer supply their own markets. Markets always adapt. And of course, if it makes sense, economically speaking, why not consider the possibility to export?” 

“On the other hand, we are asked to produce more and more using green energy. Some companies would be interested in the concept of decarbonization, which aims to buy carbon credits from companies that produce in a greener way. Could this be a new alternative for our business that would help us to invest more?”

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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The Netherlands

Gert Kema, WUR:

“Five years from now, there could be new banana varieties” “There’s plenty of good news to report; we just haven’t found the answer yet,” begins Gert Kema, professor of phytopathology at Wageningen University (WUR) in the Netherlands, when asked about how things stand concerning Fusarium wilt and the TR4 strain that is ravaging Cavendish bananas. He sees only one ultimate solution: “New resistant varieties.”

nd a lot of hard work is being done on that by, for instance, Yelloway, a KeyGene, MusaRadix, and Chiquita partnership. KeyGene was founded in 1989 and brings together several breeding companies, including Enza, Rijk Zwaan, Limagrain Vegetable Seeds, and Takii. “That’s the best solution, agronomically, because bananas are, of course, an extreme example of global monoculture. Its success is actually - unsurprisingly - its downfall,” says Gert, who sees a role for the entire industry in making cultivation

more sustainable and diversified. He calls for collaboration to share that journey’s costs.

TACKLING MULTIPLE ISSUES Gert considers breeding a good route because it offers the chance to tackle multiple problems simultaneously. He points out that rectifying a single issue using genetic engineering could also be possible. Still, that is not his preference. “You could try fixing Fusarium, and the plant would still be susceptible to, for instance,

Black Sigatoka, which requires spraying more than 40, often as many as 70, times in most areas.”

Gert also sees that Black Sigatoka could prove an even bigger threat than TR4. “Fusarium is a true killer, but Black Sigatoka is already widespread. And, without spraying - with a few exceptions - you produce no bananas and certainly can’t export. The EU only has to ban certain plant protection products, and there’s an issue right away. Whichever way you look at it, for bananas, chemical crop protection in bananas is reaching its ceiling. That’s another reason to create new varieties,” he says. NEW VARIETIES Though commerce is important, Prof. Kema points out that exports - mainly of Cavendish, the banana we are all familAGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

The Netherlands

iar with in supermarkets - represent only 15% of global production. The remaining 85% is destined for local markets. Increasing disease pressure could, thus, threaten food security for many. “Those diseases won’t pass over banana varieties essential for food security. So, from that perspective, we have to be strategic, too. Plant breeding is the best choice. That takes time, but the good news is, in four to five years, our program should be quite far along regarding potential new varieties.” Until then, the focus remains primarily on prevention, tracking, and control, of which tracking currently offers the most perspective. Though attention is being paid to prevention, Gert does not see that producing the desired results. “Despite all efforts, TR4 keeps spreading. Apparently, prevention isn’t working as well as everyone had hoped,” he admits—an important point because once TR4 shows up, there is no stopping it. According to Gert, raising the alarm at the first signs of infection is the only way to prevent further spread, which, unfortunately, happens more often than not. “That infection is often only revealed when it can no longer be denied; then it’s already too far gone and has spread all over the plantation.”

AERIAL MAPPING When it comes to tracking, Gert sees hopeful new developments. “By plane, you can map 70,000 hectares in two weeks. Do that regularly with a 5-7 cm resolution, and you can identify suspicious plants.” A good strategy, thinks the professor because authorities can then inspect those trees and determine if they carry TR4. “If so, you have enough time to contain an outbreak,” he reckons.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Control choices are limited too. These have not changed much since a century ago when Fusarium wilt wiped out the Gros Michel banana variety, Gert points out. “It’s the same thing, over and over. People consider soil fertilization, biological control, or less-susceptible varieties. But that has been tried for 100 years and has been inefficient. There is, however, one aspect that is proving different, according to Gert: tissue culture. “Unlike a century ago, we can create millions of healthy banana trees,” he states.

WATER DISINFECTION The problems, however, sadly, do not end with TR4 or Black Sigatoka, Gert admits. The disease Moko also appears to be causing banana production issues in Latin America. “The bacterium Ralstoniasolanacearum causes Moko which causes brown rot in potatoes. This disease spreads very easily via water. As with preventing TR4’s spread, for Moko, it’s vital to disinfect your water.” Gert indicates that in the research phase, using UV to do so is showing promising results. He cites that as an example of innovation, something he thinks could play an enormous role in banana cultivation. He illustrates that with information he heard concerning tomato cultivation. “In 25 years, tomato production has increased maybe fivefold. Of that, 50% is due to genetically improved varieties; the remainder is down to cultivation innovation. That’s very encouraging because since banana cultivation’s hardly changed in the last century, there’s still plenty of room for that,” he enthuses. SUBSTRATE Another example of innovation is growing bananas on substrate. “They then no

longer grow in contaminated soil. When cultivating plants in substrate, you place a drip system that saves water and finetunes fertilization. Plus, it prevents all soil-related problems.”

ABC: A Banana Company is doing largescale substrate cultivation testing. It uses the knowledge gathered from research in a practical setting, an important endeavor for the WUR, Gert says. “The unique thing about the work we do at Wageningen is how we try to link that as quickly as possible with companies and experienced business people to get innovations into the market quickly,” he concludes.  gert.kema@wur.nl

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Global climate

Weather extremes impact on global fruit and vegetable sector. Where are answers being sought? Tuesday, July 4, 2023, was the world’s hottest day ever recorded, reports the U.S. Meteorological Institute. More and more climate records are being broken, but lately, they are not just being broken; they are being smashed. We can no longer escape global warming’s effect, something fruit and vegetable growers can attest to as well. All around the world, growers are victims of increasingly frequent drought periods or, the opposite, excessive rain resulting in flooding.

t is hugely challenging to halt climate change while adjusting to changing weather patterns, and much can be written about it. This article considers the consequences for fruit and vegetable growers all over the world and looks at where the fruit and vegetable sector is seeking answers to mitigate the climate extremes’ impact.

Here, we want to make it clear right away - with a measure of pride - that, despite problems like an increasingly global market with long-distance imports, consuming plant-based foods, generally, and fruits and vegetables in particular, offers a vital part of the solution to reduce global warming.

Food-footprint’s website shows that producing a kilogram of hamburger meat emits about 30 kg of CO2 and uses 250 liters of water. For tomatoes, that is only about two kilos of CO2 and 100 liters of water. And eating legumes, grains, brassicas, sprouts, seeds, kernels, nuts, mushrooms, algae, and the like can (partially) replace the much-needed protein meat and dairy provide. FROM SWITCHING TO FAILED CROPS Global warming manifests itself not only in the widespread, frequent occurrence of climate extremes but also in a gradual shifting of climate zones. And in horticulture, that immediately leads to choosing to switch crops. Pears traditionally struggled in Poland due to frigid weather; now, cultivation seems to be gaining

AGF Primeur • Edición Internacional • 2023

Global climate

a better foothold in that country. Sweet potato has always been a southern hemisphere product; today, you can find fields of these tubers in central and northern Europe.

“Introducing new crop varieties could have several positive effects for horticulture in the northern parts of Europe,” the European Commission’s website reads. For southern regions, high temperatures and water scarcity mean those effects are mostly adverse. SPAIN IS STRUGGLING In the short term, crop failures are the most apparent result of climate extremes and changing weather patterns. That brings about financial woes for growers and frequently rising shelf prices due to supply shortages. In Spain, the European market’s most important horticultural region, this year’s stone fruits are smaller. On the one hand, because of the lack of

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

cold hours in the fall and early winter, on the other, the hot, dry spring.

Another increasingly common phenomenon affecting stone and top fruit is late spring frost, just as the trees are in bloom. That happened, for example, in Lleida and Aragon last year. Growers in those areas lost 70% of stone fruit yields due to late frosts in April and an early heat wave in May. The increasingly fierce and unusually timed rain, hail, and storms are becoming hugely problematic for Spanish fruit and vegetable cultivation; a few months ago, that prevented more than half of Extremadura’s cherry harvest. In the medium term, however, the drought poses an even greater threat. That issue, which has been dragging on since the summer of 2019, means 70% lower yields are expected for the upcoming mango harvest in southern Spain.

DISASTERS IN ITALY AND NEW ZEALAND Sicily, a major citrus and greenhouse vegetable supplier, has been seesawing between droughts and floods. In late May, rains lashed Emilia-Romagna, resulting in limited stone fruit supplies and a downwardly revised top fruit harvest estimate. Other parts of the world are not being spared either. In February, floods and landslides in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle wiped out many apple orchards on New Zealand’s North Island. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called Gabrielle the biggest natural disaster to hit New Zealand in the past century. In South Africa’s Western Cape, citrus growers experienced torrential rains for weeks in June, and in the same month, many rivers flooded houses and fields in Chile. “I can’t remember a winter when it rained so much in such a short time,” says one grape grower. But, in Peru, because

of El Niño - which climate change could exacerbate avocado growers and others are hoping for warmer weather and more rain. And Argentina experienced its worst drought and heat in 94 years. “We’re witnessing the second lowest citrus exports in a decade,” an Argentine citrus exporter said in early July. FROM PEST PRESSURE TO STEEPER AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE Crop loss and infrastructure damage directly result from these increasingly common climate extremes, but global warming also has indirect consequences. “Temperature increases can lead to more pests and diseases,” the European Commission writes on its website. For example, Drosophila Suzukii is becoming a significant challenge for France’s medium-late and late cherry varieties.

Water shortages, in turn, mean acreage is shrinking in some cultivation areas. In large parts of Spain, basin levels are historically low, and groundwater salinization is increasing in coastal areas. Andalusia is vital for greenhouse vegetable cultivation in Almería, tropical fruits in Málaga, citrus in Seville and Huelva, and a multitude of other outdoor crops in several provinces. But, in early July, it could rely on only 25% of its water basin capacity.

This scarcity is making growers reluctant to make future commitments to irrigation, and they are planting fewer hectares. Spain has already cut back on some 1,000 hectares of melon crops.

Another indirect consequence? More expensive, less efficient agricultural insurance due to increased crop failures. That, combined with rising cultivation costs and investments (see next section ) - which sales prices do not always meet - is putting many small-scale growers’ backs to the wall. THERE ARE SOLUTIONS The sector is trying to adjust to cope with global warming’s various direct and indirect adverse effects. The solution is significantly characterized by cultivation techniques, including irrigation, physical crop protection, and breeding innovations.

Hot weather and prolonged dry periods with possible water shortages are forcing growers, the sector, and governments to find ways to provide sufficient water and develop more efficient irrigation methods. Transferring water from one water basin to another, building rainwater retention infrastructure, reducing water use, and investing in new water harvesting techniques (e.g., desalination plants) are government tasks where umbrel-

la sector associations can apply pressure and thus play a stimulating role.

The sector itself can begin developing and implementing water-saving irrigation methods too. Sensors measuring plants’ precise water and nutrient requirements and sophisticated drip irrigation

systems administering exact water amounts are becoming increasingly commonplace. There are also already biodegradable products that retain water in the soil, reducing evaporation. To prevent late spring frost from damaging blossoms or young fruit, mobile fans offer

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Global climate

crops that, in addition to providing protection, generate green energy - occupies a special place.

Controlled indoor cultivation is another solution that could receive increased interest in the future. It, however, only offers a solution for some crops. Herbs and greenhouse vegetables are no problem, but what about oranges and pears? Indoor cultivation provides the advantage of keeping out adverse environmental factors such as heat, cold, rain, hail, and wind, as well as pests and diseases.

an alternative to anti-frost braziers or watering the trees - not the most efficient solution when water is scarce. In open field cultivation, a wide variety of ever-sophisticated nets and screens

offer protection against too-bright sunlight (which burns plants and fruit) and too-hot temperatures, as well as rain, hail, and wind gusts. Here, agrivoltaics, or dual-use solar - where shading, rainproof solar panels are installed above

Finally, growers are pinning their hopes on breeders’ pioneering work. These breeders are developing crops that should withstand various harmful influences, like hot or cold weather, drought or flooding, and diseases and pests. Climate change is making these things ever-intense and frequent. With this in mind, the European Union now appears to be changing tack to allow some advanced breeding techniques that have, so far, been banned on European soil. 

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

ADVERTORIAL

Fruit Attraction 2023: An opportunity to discover Lebanese fresh produce Are you interested in discovering new markets? The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) can introduce you to reliable, certified suppliers ready to do business. CBI currently works with carefully selected Lebanese companies supplying a diverse range of fresh fruits and vegetables. These companies have received individual coaching from a CBI sector expert. Quality products from Lebanon Lebanon has a Mediterranean climate and is at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia. This puts it in an excellent position to supply fresh fruit and vegetables. CBI is currently supporting 21 Lebanese companies with the export of their products to European and Gulf markets. These companies produce or trade a variety of high-quality fruits and vegetables.

These include avocados, table grapes, stone fruits, citrus fruits, cherimoyas, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. Meet CBI-supported companies During Fruit Attraction 2023, you can meet CBI-supported companies at the Lebanese pavilion in hall 1, stand 1C10. The companies at this pavilion are part of a CBI project and have been well-trained during the last 3

years. They are now export-ready and GLOBALG.A.P certified. The companies have also received training on effective trade fair participation from CBI and the Lebanese Chambers of Commerce. For a preview of some of the products provided by the companies, visit the LEBFRESH website. This website has been developed to promote Lebanon's fresh products. The Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade hosts this platform in partnership with the Lebanese Chambers of Commerce, the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, Berytech and Fairtrade Lebanon. https://lebfresh.org/

About CBI The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) supports the transition to inclusive and sustainable economies. CBI always starts from the perspective of local SMEs, strengthening their economic, social and environmental sustainability through the export of products to European and regional markets. CBI has over 50 years of experience and has worked with over 10,000 SMEs from 70 countries to build

sustainable trade relationships with European buyers. CBI prepares carefully selected companies with the skills and knowledge they need to enter European and regional markets. Are you interested in doing business with the suppliers that CBI has selected? You can find more information about the participating companies on our website.

Iran

Morteza Khanouki, Sales and marketing manager Farmerz

Economic sanctions, the main barrier to Iranian fruit exports Fifteen million hectares of arable land, a diverse four-season climate, abundant sunlight, low energy costs... Iran has all the assets to be a major fruit-exporting nation. But the export fruit industry in Iran, along with its wider international trade, is being seriously slowed down by the economic sanctions imposed on the country. To understand how the sanctions are affecting Iranian fruit exports and how exporters are coping, we interviewed Morteza Khanouki, Sales and Marketing Manager at Farmerz.

armerz is one of Iran’s leading fresh produce exporters. The company produces fruit in open fields as well as vegetables in hydroponic greenhouses. As one of the few agribusiness companies that exports up to 70% of its production and

operates on more than 2,000 hectares of land, Farmerz is an exception in Iran.

Morteza states: “The sanctions imposed on Iran are different in nature and scope. The unilateral sanctions imposed by the

United States did not have a significant negative impact on the Iranian economy. However, since 2006, the more comprehensive multilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have had an inhibiting and paralyzing effect on our trade. We have been forced to shift our markets and trading partners from the EU to the MENA region and East Asia. Twenty years ago, European markets accounted for 40% of our exports, but this figure fell to about 19% in 2020. Currently, about 50% of our exports go to Iraq and Afghanistan.” As a result, Iranian exporters are confined to a limited market. “NeighborAGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Iran

ing Iraq is the largest market for Iranian fruit. We have also increased our exports to other neighboring countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Russia, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.”

Iranian exporters may have been able to reach alternative markets, but the flows and volumes exported are nowhere near the country’s potential. And the situation appears to be at a standstill. “Only a change in the Iranian government’s political behavior, and negotiations with world powers, can eliminate the negative impact of sanctions on trade,” says Morteza.

Of all the sanctions tools in place, Iran’s exclusion from the SWIFT system is the most impactful. Morteza shares: “Money transfer is our biggest problem, resulting in untraceable transactions, higher costs, and risks for Iranian exporters. As a result, our export statistics are neither traceable nor official. For example, we know for sure that Russia is an important market for Iranian capsicum, but we cannot know the real value and quantity of exports.” Iranian exports are therefore routed through third countries using financial schemes that are, albeit legal, very costly for exporters.

This configuration puts Iranian exporters in a weak negotiating position, and it has to be said that their buyers take advantage of this situation, forcing them to accept lower prices, shrinking year after year, despite global inflation. Morteza adds, “Surprisingly, the prices of Iranian fruits have decreased from 2018 to 2021. The Iranian currency has also depreciated against the US dollar, part-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

ly due to sanctions. As a result, producers have started to export more in order to cope with rising local prices. On the world stage, this fall in Iranian fresh produce prices is linked to Iran’s economic difficulties. All these factors together determine the price of Iranian fruit today”.

As a result, Iran’s fruit exports have increased from 3 million tons in 2018 to 4.5 million tons in 2021. In terms of value, this represents an increase from $2.4 billion in 2018 to $3.1 billion in 2021, according to figures provided by Farmerz. The most exported fruits are pistachios, dates, apples, grapes, watermelon, kiwi, oranges, and stone fruits. These export volumes are far below the country’s huge potential, with a total fruit production that reached 18 million tons in 2021. Morteza comments, “We have favorable conditions for fruit cultivation, with an extended growing season and abundant sunshine, which enables us to produce a wide variety of fruits. Our growers are renowned for their unique varieties and high-quality products, with a considerable international demand that is only being hampered by the current political situation.”

“For example, the International Trade Center estimates that Iran exports only 44% of its export potential for apples, 53% for watermelons, 57% for grapes, and 40% for kiwis. There are indeed other factors at play, such as international competition and increasingly adverse climatic conditions. But these factors are common to all countries, and we also have our strengths. The biggest obstacle to realizing our potential remains the political situation and economic sanctions.”

The lifting of sanctions is vital to unlocking this potential. Morteza is optimistic: “We hope the situation will improve soon. The reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is an important step in the right direction and means the reopening of an important market for us. We also hope that our country will achieve lasting peace with Europe and the United States.” Neighboring Saudi Arabia imports hundreds of thousands of tons of fruit annually, valued at $1.78 billion. Before diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed 7 years ago, the fruit trade was thriving, with dozens of containers being shipped every day. The fruit industry professionals from both countries are looking forward to the awaited resumption of trade following the reconciliation between the two countries.

“Meanwhile, in the short term, we’re looking forward to strengthening our position in existing export markets especially in neighboring countries such as Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan, India, the UAE, and Kazakhstan,” adds the exporter. Until normal operations can be restored, Morteza says he is “used to playing in a difficult configuration.” He concludes, “Despite all the challenges, we have been able to maintain a viable fruit industry with competitive prices, supported by technology-driven farming methods such as precision agriculture. We are in constant contact with current and potential customers around the world. Our company is an outstanding success story in Iran.”  www.farmerz.ir

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The Netherlands

Tipping platform ensures efficient offloading of temperature-controlled trailers of early potatoes “The French fry processing industry is oversupplied; annually, it grows organically by six to seven percent. So every year, you need more acreage to meet that potato supply needs,” begins Martin Numan, Bulk Logistics Business Unit Manager at Farm Trans, a Dutch logistics service provider focused on bulk and temperature-controlled transport of products, including food and agricultural products. He sees that in the traditional European areas - the Netherlands, Belgium, the German Ruhr region, and northern France - potato production has reached its limits.

otatoes are, thus, sourced from further afield. For one of Farm Trans’ clients, the Bordeaux region, in particular, comes into the picture because of its early crop. “Demand is growing strongly this year - at 22,000 tons, twice as much volume as last year - and it should keep doing so in the coming years. So, the available acreage there, and in other parts of the EU, is becoming increasingly important.” Martin says that growing demand creates a significant challenge: Can the Bordeaux region continue supplying adequate volumes of potatoes in the future? “Perhaps not. Spain seems to be coming into the picture more and more, as is a bit of Portugal and eventually North Africa: Morocco and Egypt. That’s already the case for ware potatoes during the year,” he says.

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

REFRIGERATED TRAILERS The distance the potatoes travel is thus increasing, which, Martin points out, presents logistical challenges. “To ensure the potatoes’ quality over that longer distance and during higher summer temperatures - last year, those were around 40°C - we use refrigerated trailers.” That means no belt or walking floor trailers, which begs the question: How can potatoes still be unloaded quickly and efficiently from the refrigerated trailers? Farm Trans - so far, the only company in Europe - looked toward the United States for the solution and has been using a tipping platform since 2019. Martin explains that the refrigerated trailers are driven onto the tipping platform, and both the truck and trailer are tipped, sending

the potatoes via a chute into a belt trailer. They are then transported to the factories.

A new feature this year is that the tipping platform is sunken. “That lets drivers reverse their truck-trailers onto the platform at ground level. That’s even more efficient and saves time,” Martin explains. Currently, some 70 shipments per 24-hour period are offloaded. The goal is to bring that to four trucks per hour. The volume of potatoes brought in from Bordeaux doubled this year by 22,000 tons; another doubling is expected next year. Farm Trans is, thus, considering expanding the number of tipping platforms. “This platform has the advantage of being mobile. We can take it where it’s needed. We might even use it for potential flows from other areas, like Spain or Portugal.” NEED MORE WHEELS Needing more capacity is another effect of the longer distances. “The distances between the growing areas and the processing industry are increasing, so more wheels are needed to bring in the same tonnage. Before, with 500 trucks, you could do 800 orders; now you need 600 trucks.” That means more drivers, which Numan admits is challenging. “It’s a dying

profession. Our activities - including our Driver Academy - focus as much as possible on keeping people within the organization and increasing quality and efficiency. But drivers are, on average, aging,” he points out.

For now, Farm Trans is managing fine with EU staff. Still, Martin anticipates that the demand for extra capacity could eventually mean finding drivers elsewhere. “With the growth the company foresees in the next while - we’d love a solid doubling in the next five years - I don’t rule out that, in the distant future, we might have to look for drivers from outside the European Union, in line with the legal possibilities. That doesn’t only apply to the transport sector. All industries will eventually, unavoidably, have to look for workers elsewhere,” he reckons.

FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT Sustainable employment is one pillar of Farm Trans’ sustainability policy; sustainable partnerships is another, says Ruud Heijsman, the company’s Marketing Manager. “We want to be a sustainable partner. The big potato processors are our customers, and their clients want to know how high their emissions are,” he says. Farm Trans, therefore, published its first sustainability report last year.

Electrifying its fleet is one of the sustainability aspects on which Farm Trans is working. “We’ll definitely join the transition toward electric, but that requires huge infrastructure investments,” Martin explains. He adds that the current infrastructure is not yet equipped for electric driving. “For example, many trucks are parked in our lot on weekends. If they’re all plugged in simultaneously, the entire

Moerdijk industrial park’s power will go down. And we’re only one carrier.”

Also, says Martin, the electric vehicles’ range plays a role, as do en-route charging options. “Passenger cars have a decent network. But for trucks that need a megawatt to charge, you can’t set up a charging station every five kilometers,” he clarifies. “We’re trying to proactively prepare for that by building our own infrastructure, but you eventually depend on the roads’ infrastructure. That cannot be solely the transport industry’s responsibility. Everyone must invest in that,” Ruud adds in conclusion.  martinnuman@farmtrans.com rheijsman@farmtrans.com

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The Netherlands

Water availability: a blessing and curse for Dutch top fruit cultivation When he looks at the Netherlands’ top fruit sector’s future, Dirk van Hees, one of Fruitconsult’s new partners, sees both challenges and opportunities. Here, he refers to things like water, which the top fruit cultivation consultant says poses some problems due to the changing climate, but which remains a very strong point for Dutch fruit cultivation.

“I

n the Netherlands, we still have plenty of access to watering, either via drip irrigation or sprinklers,” Dirk begins. There is, however, a shift towards more efficient watering methods. “That will become increasingly important in the future because we expect - and this is supported by the Dutch Fruit Growers Organization (NFO) and the Water Boards - water to become increasingly scarce in the Netherlands too. We must respond to that and use the available water sparingly; that’s an opportunity for the Netherlands.” STRATEGIES AROUND WATER Dirk points out that top fruit cultivation in the Dutch province of Zeeland - where

little water is available in most places, and the danger of salinization plays a role - is an area of concern. “About a third of Dutch pears are grown there. That’s a threat, though using water basins more offers an opportunity, too,” he says. On the Dutch research farm, Proeftuin Randwijk - of which Fruitconsult is a co-shareholder - various projects and strategies are being tested around efficient water usage, including collecting rainwater during winter to use in summer. “All issues around watering are a focal point within Fruitconsult.”

While irrigation is increasingly playing a role in the Netherlands, it is essential in southern Europe. Dirk notes that water

Dirk van Hees

availability will become crucial there and possibly even a challenging cultivation aspect. “That’s actually already noticeable; it’s harder to grow pears there,” he explains. Dirk thinks that offers opportunities for Dutch pear cultivation.

TWICE AS MUCH “About twice as much water evaporates from pear than apple trees. So, you must have twice as much water available. In the Netherlands, that’s going well thanks to efficient watering methods, but in Italy or Spain, water is becoming much scarcer and pear cultivation is becoming increasingly difficult. Particularly in Italy, there’s a reduction in the pear grow-

New partners On January 1, 2023, the Dutch company Fruitconsult got a new generation of owners. Founders Eric van der Hoeff, Jan Peeters, Jos de Wit, and Matty Polfliet handed the reins to employees Arie Kikkert, Dirk van Hees, Stijn van Laer, and Willem Kalle. For now, these familiar faces are still active in the company; only Eric van der Hoeff has stopped as a fruit cultivation consultant. “The most important thing was that Fruitconsult continues advising independently, with no affiliation to other parties. We, thus, firstly sought succession within our team,” says one of the new partners, Dirk van Hees. He joined the consultancy in 2010, saying the flat structure, where everyone’s opinion counts, was one of the reasons for that. “Also, many things are well established, and the company’s ready for the future.”

Part of that includes models that warn against scab, codling moths, bleeding, and black fruit rot, which form the basis for advice to growers. Those will, thus, not be tinkered with, Dirk points out, saying: “Those are rock solid and will remain so.” However, Fruitconsult’s new owners want to focus slightly more on young business successors. “We, too, bring new energy. There will undoubtedly be more innovation

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

in the fruit growing sector than ten years ago.” “There are few fruit growers between the ages of 35 and 45. Unusually there have definitely been more younger (than 35) fruit growers in the last five years. That gives a positive energy, and we, the new Fruitconsult partners,

want to focus on that younger generation and the future they face,” Dirk explains. Last March, for example, some 75 young fruit growers attended the company’s first youth meeting. “It’s a vital group for fruit growing’s future, and therefore also Fruitconsult’s future.”

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The Netherlands

Comparing apples and pears

in weather conditions, such as less frost.

Many pear trees have recently been planted in the Netherlands. So many that, where the apple acreage was always more extensive than that of pears, that has been reversed since 2012, reports the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Though, both have lost acreage. “The apple acreage has shrunk by 85% since 1950. Pear acreage also declined until the late 1980s, but since the early 1990s, it grew, stabilizing at around 10,000 hectares in recent years,” states the CBS. For a long time, fruit cultivation focused on growing apples. There are several reasons for pear acreage surpassing that of apples in 2012, including international competition in the apple market and changes

Apple and pear acreage

ing area. That, too, offers opportunities for Dutch pear cultivation.”

Besides cultivation opportunities, Van Hees sees room in the pear market too. “All in all, growers have planted plenty of pears trees in the Netherlands and Belgium in recent years, and I think that will continue in the coming years. But, there’s still more uprooting in Europe, especially in southern Europe, than additional over-

Despite the shrinking apple acreage, in 1993, production reached a record high of 597 million kg. Since the beginning of this century, that yield has declined due to decreasing acreage. In 2022, growers harvested 236 million kilograms of apples. Pear yields mainly remained below 150 million kilos until 2000. After that, it rose, and in 2022, 351 million kilograms of pears were harvested.

Apple and pear yields

Both apple and pear yields/hectare have increased because of, among other things, specialization and scaling up. With specialization,

all planting. So, there’s room for more Dutch pear production,” he continues.

POLAND AND GERMANY Neither does he believe that, as is often claimed, Poland and Germany will become major competitors when it comes to pears. “There’s a little more planting there, but Poland, for instance, generally has lighter soil and less water availability. Its continental climate has hot, dry sum-

growers focus on one or two types of fruit. In 1950, the hectare yield for apples was more than six tons, and for pears, almost eight tons. By 2022, that had climbed to 40 and nearly 35 tons, respectively.

Improved cultivation also ensures higher hectare yields. For example, growers replaced talltrunk with short-trunk orchards, thus making harvesting more efficient. Also, apple and pear varieties with higher yields than many older types were developed. But, apple and pear production is susceptible to weather conditions like frost, hail, and a wet spring. That can significantly affect annual production.

mers, so growing pears there will always be harder than in the Netherlands. I doubt pear cultivation will immediately succeed in Poland.”

Dirk mentions the shrinking crop protection product package as another challenge for top fruit growers. “Chemical agents are definitely becoming scarcer,” he says. He cites pear bud and apple blossom weevils as examples. In the Nether-

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lands, there are no approved pesticides, organic or otherwise, effective enough to deal with this problem. “They’re available in Germany and Belgium, though. So, these pests are a major issue in the Netherlands.”

HARDY VARIETIES Another problem is the increasing presence of fruit tree canker, a fungal disease that kills branches and trees and can affect the fruit, especially since there is little to be done about it. “Control is currently mainly sanitation-focused,” says Dirk. These hard-to-control diseases and pests result in a focus on hardier varieties. But that, the consultant notes, takes time. “You can compare fruit growing to a large container vessel. You can’t quickly turn it around. You need space and time. That, thus, doesn’t offer short-term solutions. At places like Proeftuin, we consider all kinds of projects to determine the bottlenecks in that respect.” Dirk sees plenty of new varieties have entered the market in recent years and believes more will follow. “Some of those are, say, more scab-resistant or have fewer issues with fruit tree canker or powdery mildew. The hardier varieties and their guidance were important for Fruitconsult in the last decade. But because of all the developments around varieties, it might become even more so in the next decade,” he admits. CONCEPT VARIETIES? Some of the hardier kinds of fruit enter the market as concept varieties. The consultant says club pear varieties offer advantages and disadvantages: “Most have stable payout prices, which bene-

fits growers.” On the other hand, in a season like the current one - with high prices due to quite a small European pear crop and smooth sales - free varieties like Conference sell easily too. “That’s tough for a club variety to top. Still, Conference grower prices fluctuate much more from year to year than those of club varieties. Those are obviously stabler, payout price-wise, which makes it interesting for growers. But, looking at the last five years, growers haven’t done a whole lot better with club varieties than Conference,” Dirk explains.

Though Conference still covers the largest pear cultivation area, the new (concept) varieties are making headway. Dirk indicates that in the Netherlands, pears are grown on some 11,000 hectares, about 75% of which is Conference. Doyenné du Comice and Beurré Alexander Lucas each account for around seven to eight percent. New varieties, of which Migo, Xenia, and Sweet Sensation are the largest, comprise the remaining ten-or-so percent. “In recent years, other varieties, such as Early Desire (Gräfin Gepa), have been added. There are quite a few Dutch as well as Belgian new concept pear varieties at Proeftuin Randwijk. Some should thus be added in the coming years.”

“That also makes it harder for growers to bet solely on Conference, so they’re looking to expand their variety range.” That includes considering varieties harvested one to two weeks before or after Conference pears. The new partner says, here, types like Doyenné du Comice, Beurré Alexander Lucas, and Xenia come to mind. “Also, in the Netherlands, quite a few growers have recently switched 100% percent to pears and no longer grow apples,” he knows. “They’re the ones looking for that expansion. Then to spread out labor, they harvest for four to five weeks.” OPTIMISTIC Despite all these challenges, Dirk is still very optimistic about fruit cultivation in general. He sees opportunities in increased fruit consumption for health reasons and a greater focus on locally produced food. “In the Netherlands, fruit - apples, pears, soft and stone fruit is grown on 20,000 hectares. If everyone in the country were to meet the dietary guidelines of two pieces of fruit a day and 50% of that was local, with the other 50% - like peaches, bananas, or pineapple imported, the current Dutch fruit acreage wouldn’t suffice,” Dirk concludes.  Dirk@fruitconsult.com

LABOR Dirk says finding labor during harvesting is a growing headache for growers, which prompts choosing different varieties. “Say you have 20 hectares of Conference. All those pears must be picked within two weeks, which involves a huge labor surge. Then you need about 50 pickers. In the future, organizing so many workers for such a short period will be increasingly tricky,” he admits.

Growing, storing, packing and delivering tasty Dutch apples and pears Bulksestraat 1 4031 JW Ingen – Holland Phone: +31 344 60 1968 info@ossenbruggenfruit.nl www.ossenbruggenfruit.nl

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Frankrijk

French apples and pears: different challenges towards a common goal

While the French pear harvest seems to be smaller than last year, the apple harvest is picking up after three years of minor harvests. Despite two very different configurations, the French pears and apples campaigns both look positive. Vincent Guérin of the ANPP (Association Nationale des Pommes et Poires) provides an overview of pome fruits production and consumption in France. PEARS: A SMALL HARVEST IN SIGHT FOR THE 2023-2024 CAMPAIGN This pear season in France is characterized by smaller volumes than last year. This is a direct consequence of the heatwave, which drained the trees, leading to a low return to blossom and significant physiological decline. This phenomenon was particularly significant in

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

summer pears. However, in the current European context figuring a weak harvest, especially looking at Italy, the sales season expects to be rather trouble-free in France: “We’re starting the season with a clear market, so we do not foresee any sales problems, especially as French consumers and retailers tend to prefer French products. Therefore, the

challenge will be to defend prices so as to compensate for the gap between production and consumption.

FRANCE PRODUCES 50% OF ITS PEAR NEEDS While the French market can be self-sufficient with its apple production, the situation is quite different regarding pears, with a French supply not filling the total demand: “Generally speaking, French consumption of pears is around 200,000 tons, depending on the harvest results. If we exclude processing and the small exported volume, French production for the fresh market amounts to 100,000 tons per year. Let’s say, we import 50% of the pears we consume from Belgium, the

classical and modern varieties. We can now assume that, if consumption remain, imports will decline slightly over the coming years”.

Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as from South Africa and Argentina in the off-season”.

PEAR IMPORTS EXPECT TO DECLINE IN THE COMING YEARS Logically, the context has changed for 5 years now, enabling the French pear sector to develop: “Previously, we faced problems of competitiveness, costs and profitability of our orchards, and could not therefore develop that much. But the situation as evolved for a few years, also thanks to the wish to consume French products in France. As the demand for French pears grew, the orchard’s profitability improved. As a result, new trees are being planted in France, with both

APPLES: A NORMAL HARVEST TO COME After three years of minor harvests, it looks like the apple harvest will be a rather “normal” year in terms of volumes, with over 1.5 million tons expected. This forecast could even raise, given the good size of the fruits. “We will not reach the full harvest potential, because some production zones have switched yields and some orchards have suffered the consequences of pests. But we will still have almost 200,000 tons more than the average volumes harvested in the last 3 years. What’s more, we currently have the quantity, quality and size needed to supply all segments of the French market. Apple consumption in France is around 800,000 tons for the fresh market. 350,000 tons are destined for processing, and the rest sold for export.

WEAK EUROPEAN HARVEST: ASSET FOR FRENCH PRODUCTION This situation is even more favorable for France now the European harvest this year appears to be short: “At European level, we are below what is considered to be market balance. Normally, this is 11.5 million tons, and this season we’ll

be close to 11.4 million. Other non-European producing countries such as China and India also expect a smaller harvest. So there will not be any over-supply this year. Furthermore, we do not experience excessive imports of apples from the southern hemisphere, and with no remaining stock at the start of the season, there’s no prospect of a campaign overlap. In this rather empty market, demand for apples is emerging fairly early, with prices at the start of September looking very decent. “Because of this all, we hope for a dynamic start to the campaign, with stable firm prices. We’re trying to catch this momentum and to enter all market segments with the various distribution channels we have”.

AN UPTURN IN FRENCH APPLE EXPORTS? The geopolitical situation since 2014 and increased competition from Eastern European countries on certain markets have resulted in an erosion of French exports. However, this phenomenon has been accentuated by the drop in apple storage capacity, due in particular to last year’s heatwave: “The quality of apples at the time was not beneficial to their preservation. The fruit could not withstand several weeks of transport. We were therefore able to export until December, but then quickly stopped exporting to distant destinations, as the commercial AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Frankrijk

risks increased. This year, however, quality will once again enable us to reach all (export) markets. We wish coming back as a strong exporter, after a few years of declining activity”.

GROWING DEMAND FROM THE PROCESSING INFUSTRY There is a clear demand on the processing market, “especially because of the low stock of apple juice concentrate and the shortage of orange juice, which is being filled by apples. In addition, we have a specific and well-developed compote making sector in France, which is growing”. THE MISSION: PASS ON HIGHER PRODUCTION COSTS Interesting volumes, good product quality, demand already raising in several segments, facing an European and global competition that cannot possibly result in an over-supplied market: all encouraging signals for the 2023/2024 French apple season. “Our objective this year will be to keep up the pressure on our distribution channels to pass on the bigger production costs that we could not fully absorb in the selling price last season. An increase of around 20%, including higher energy, labor, input and logistics costs. So we’re optimistic, but cautious, because nothing

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

is ever won in advance - everything has to be conquered”.

While the good looking apple season partly banks on the global and European context, the outlook for development of the French sector depends more on internal than external factors. “Our current view is that production capacity will be decisive for the growth potential of our orchards, and not so much market fluctuations. This depends directly on water resources, manpower, health regulations... DIFFERENT GENETICS DEVELOPMENT In terms of varieties, French pears and apples face their own challenges in the years ahead: “We need to succeed in bringing French pears back to the French retail shelves, given that we produce 50% of our needs. Until recently, the pear market was relatively limited in terms of varieties, mainly featuring old ones. For decades, there was little innovation, until recent years when new varieties offering new colors and taste characteristics entered the market and won back young consumers”. But the situation is very different in apples, being a mature market with a production accounting for 90% of the coun-

try’s consumption. “Many people think that the large number of varieties - particularly bicolored apples - confuse consumers. Shelf space is not expandable, and department managers are willing to try out a new variety, but this will always be replacing another one. Even more counting a contraction in the number of references in stores over the last few months. We’re reaching saturation point with a maximum number of varieties on the market and this demands a redesigned commercial approach. Rather than seeking to diversify the existing range, varietal research in the apple sector is focusing more on issues of resistance to disease, pests, drought and water availability, while preserving the taste assets already represented by current varieties”. Although the French apple and pear markets find themselves on the same level of maturity, and therefore face different challenges, the objective remains the same: to offer consumers a quality fruit, while guaranteeing a good return for producers in a context of climatic and economic change. 

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Italy

Sales opportunities for Italian fennel are expanding into foreign markets “Fennel is a widely consumed vegetable in Italy, but not so much in other countries. This means that the growth margins are high with regard to exports,” says Vittorio Caligari, a specialist in this crop with 14 thousand tons of fennel processed each year at his own company (Caligari&Babbi), one of the largest in Italy.

“I

talian fennel is exported mostly to Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, and France,” explains Caligari. The latter two nations produce it domestically during the summer months. The challenge that needs to be addressed involves marketing actions that engage wholesalers, importers and consumers beyond Italy to increase interest and thus consumption.” Caligari&Babbi is one of the largest Italian companies exporting fennel. The annual average is 30 percent, with a peak

of 65 percent during certain periods of the winter months. The latest data available, released also by marketing expert Salvo Garipoli (SG Marketing) at a conference dedicated to fennel, show an export share of 11 percent of the total. In Italy, fennel accounts for 5 percent of the total vegetables purchased.

“For some years now, fennel has been facing several problems, as production costs have risen steeply while price sales have remained flat. From the post-Covid period onward, margins have been gradual-

ly decreasing and many producers have been abandoning their crops,” continues Caligari. AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

Italy

The worst year was 2022 with only 13.600 hectares cultivated (source: Istat), while 2023 was up to 19 thousand, the same level as 2021. With regard to the 19 thousand cultivated hectares, the annual production is around 500 thousand tons. In 2022, production dropped to 330 thousand tons (source: Istat). Greenhouse cultivation does not exceed 80 hectares nationwide. LACK OF ORGANIZATION IN SALES In Italy, fennel is one of the most concentrated crops, because there are 8-10 specialized companies that process, select, package and export the product. However, there is no organization where the product is handled by a central sales office. If this were to happen, there would probably be less competition and growers would get better prices.

“On the commercialization front, we need to offer the consumer a product that is

consistent in quality and appearance, avoiding price fluctuations so as not to create confusion. Standardizing the price is important so that the consumer has a real perception of the value and the product, and the same goes for the packaging by focusing on a longer shelf life,” explains Caligari.

With regard to the processing of the crop inside supermarket chains, when it comes to the imposed weight, Garipoli pointed out how “fennel marked an increase of 13.2 percent in the first two months of 2022. Another peculiarity of this crop is that it is mainly concentrated in the south of Italy, with Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Abruzzo and Basilicata accounting for almost 90 percent.” In northern Italy, cultivation was introduced a few years ago in Emilia Romagna, where Vittorio Caligari was first to pioneer it.

Growing fennel is by no means easy, and climatic changes are affecting yields even more,” adds Caligari. “It must be noted that seed companies in recent years have obtained very efficient varieties. For example, 20 years ago yields per hectare were around 30 tons, whereas today they have almost doubled, to around 60 tons. But fennel is a photosensitive plant (it is affected by variations of light), and it does not like high temperatures. By contrast, in recent years there are such high temperature peaks that the quality of the product is being affected. This causes a loss of quality, unsold stock, less product sold, and declining profit margins. The real challenge now in growing crops is not to produce, but to produce high quality crops with minimal stock.”

FRESH-CUT AND READY-TO-EAT “When we talk about diversifying consumption, the first thing that comes to mind is the fresh-cut sector. However,

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vegetable buyer, “but the feedback has disregarded expectations. About 90 percent of consumption relates to raw fennel.”

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? “In the last two years, profit margins have been decreasing more and more, and this is jeopardizing any future production. There are many risks, rising expenses, and you no longer have the certainty of being able to generate income. Plans and investments shouldn’t be calculated on expectations, but on entrepreneurial needs and certainties. We need basic agreements between producers and customers, otherwise we are likely to lose a lot of production,” concluded Caligari. 

this is not easy when it comes to fennel,” says Caligari. “It is difficult due to the oxidation of the product, and maybe even for some resistance on the part of the consumer who prefers to personally cut and consume it.”

As for the ready-to-eat range, both steamed and grilled products are seeing changes and are making their way onto shelves, but it is not easy to convince the consumer. “We carried out tests for the ready-to-eat products,” said a fruit and

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South America

Leading South American fresh produce industries see Spanish as allies The leading fresh produce growing countries in South America, namely Chile, Peru and Argentina can build on their good understanding with their counterparts in Spain, who are seen as real allies in reaching European markets. Spain can also learn some crucial lessons from their friends in South America, particularly about their post-harvest expertise developed in shipping fruit to far away destinations in Asia in record volumes each year.

ccording to South American producers in Chile and Peru, Spain, including the rest of European producing countries, are important, while Fruit Attraction remains a key platform. Sebastian Rodriguez, the new commercial manager from the company Verfrut, with farms in both Chile and Peru, says Spain and other EU countries do impact and determine the annual start of their supply to the key EU market. The Verfrut Group of five related companies, has more than 4,300 hectares of orchards in production in Chile and more than 2,700 hectares in Peru, which makes the company the largest individual fruit grower in Chile and the largest grape grower in Peru. They exported over

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

13 million cases of fresh fruit, and will in the next 2 years export over 190,000 tons of fresh fruit from its own orchards.

“Spain has impact for sure. For Peru on grapes it dictates when we can start exporting to Europe -once grapes from Spain are decreasing as well as Greece and Italy grapes among other countries. For Chile it has an impact on apples - how long Europe can store fruit - and pears. So in general it differs on which category you have, how the Europe/Spain situation affects you,” says Rodriguez. Delving deeper into how Chilean and Spanish producers and exporters interact

with each other is Lorena Pinto, a breeder and evaluator of AnaChile. They manage and evaluate cultivars for local as well as international breeding programs. They also arrange technical study visits for South American producers and experts to Spain.

“There are many Chilean professionals that are travelling in the season to work with Spanish companies helping them to have better storage and fruit processing practices. We are visiting Spain because they have already planted many of the varieties that we are planting in Chile now. But also because in comparison to Italy or Germany, it is a little bit more similar to what we could expect in Chile in terms of behaviour. But anyway Chile have less atmospheric humidity, so it is necessary to try to extrapolate the results in Spain to the possible results in Chile where the fruit is firmer and with higher soluble solids (°brix),” explains Pinto. According to Cristián Muñoz, Technical Manager at Chilean cherry producers Greenvic, Spain stands out in technological innovation on different stages of agricultural production, with strong emphasis on the added value of the entire agri-food chain. “In addition, there is collaboration and integration between their universities, companies and cooperatives, the latter still very much in force in the different communities. Fruit growing in Spain is diverse and with a good presence of different genetic programs in cherry and stone fruit. So it is very important to observe and learn from the behaviour of these new varieties established several years ago in Europe, and of which in Chile we are just starting the first harvests during this 2023 season. In Chile we are always looking for new varietal replacement opportunities. It is difficult to achieve given our export model, which involves moving fruit over greater distances. Therefore, each genetic program must fulfil as its first objective that of ensuring an adequate postharvest life during maritime trips. In addition, the counter season gives us the opportunity to move faster with the evaluations by being able to see two crops per year from the same genetic programs planted in Spain and Chile,” explains Muñoz.

how we do business and try to copy some things about that, or how we use logistics for example. Including on the shelf life of the different varieties too.”

SPAIN CAN BE ALLIES IN EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL Spain are the leaders of fruit production in Europe, with the European Union implementing ever stricter Green Deals and such environmental laws. Countries outside the EU, especially in the Southern Hemisphere have to invest heavily to stay in compliance with many different audits and standards to prove suitability to trade. This is where Spain can indeed be allies with other complimentary supplying countries.

He says an important point to learn about is the effect of the changing weather patterns caused by climate change on fruit. “Chile, like Spain, has Mediterranean climates, with productive similarities in fruit trees and annual crops; so our learning must be directed to these new agro-climatic conditions that are being experienced in the northern hemisphere. With this scenario, future solutions achieved in Spain must be evaluated and adapted to our reality in Chile, with the sole purpose of adapting our agronomic management to present climate change. In this way, we can anticipate the problems, the main objective being to protect our food security. Water efficiency in Spain is an achievement to highlight and an example to follow. In visits made in different Spanish fruit orchards, we find a common factor, low annual water

consumption without prejudice to production. Using precision practices when implementing deficit irrigation, partial root irrigation, plus the use of remote sensing technologies with vigour maps among other agronomic managements.”

Rodrigues says Spain can tap the knowledge and resources of Chile and Peru especially as they have become world leaders of growing and exporting different fruit. “I think Peru now has a strength on grapes and blueberries and Chile more on cherries, so they can be seen as a model on those categories, but they are very successful more due to the weather that allows them to grow and achieve very good yields and better fruit. What I mean with this is that copying methods from Peru or Chile doesn’t mean any success at all. Maybe Europe/Spain can learn

“More than ally on this is a request from different retailers that asks for new regulations, certification and requirements, but I wouldn’t say they teach us or help us. It is just a new requirement and we need to have our teams to learn how to implement it, how to solve it and for our fruit to arrive in a good way at destination. So on those terms, yes it helps as maybe if no new regulation would have been set, maybe no change from our side. So it’s a new challenge for us, but for good,” concludes Rodriguez.  Sebastián Rodríguez srodriguez@verfrut.cl Lorena Pinto lpinto@anachile.cl Cristián Muñoz cmunoz@greenvic.cl

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

South America

Ecuador bananas and Colombian exotics industries find Spain a springboard to Europe The banana industry of Ecuador together with the avocado and exotic fruits industries from Colombia use their familiar cultural bonds with the Spanish and Fruit Attraction as a springboard to reach Europe. During recent years Madrid has become a crucial meeting point with retail buyers for Ecuador and the other Latin American banana and exotics producing countries.

or Ing. Marianela Ubilla, general manager of Ecuador’s Agzulasa and Chairperson of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), the recent series of meetings with European retailers at big trade shows - impressing on them the need to pay better prices to support minimum wages and other key targets - have started to bear results. However, much work still needs to be done she says: “When it comes to retailers’ reactions, in 2023 we saw a positive change in ALDI SÜD’s purchasing strategy, taking these considerations into account. However, the other supermarkets have not followed ALDI SÜD’s example, and instead started coalitions to look for additional calculation mechanisms or processes to assess living wages, which bring further administrative and economic burden for producers. We hope that, now that the discussion has been brought to the World Banana Forum of FAO, we can move towards the rationalization and homo-

AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

logation of the process to determine the payment of living wages. This has to consider several factors such as the recognition and respect of local salary policies and international regulations and the broad participation of all retailers (e.g. UK, DE and NL) with a common agenda to name a few.”

Ubilla says: “Fruit attraction has become one of the most important fairs of the world in the fruit and vegetable trading, due to the celebration date in the last quarter of every year. It is perfect for talking about annual contracts for shipping freight and fruit volume purchases. The exhibition celebrated in Spain for 15 years has taken more relevance for the vast majority of Latin American countries, because this country is closer for Latinos and has become the middle meeting country in the world for many other continents such as Asian, Africans and Middle Eastern countries.”

Although Spain does not import that much bananas due to their own production, Ubilla says the two countries are allies. “By attending the Fruit Attraction fair during the last 10 years with AEBE´s support and platform, we will continue developing and expanding the presence of Ecuadorian bananas in Spain and European markets.”

SPAIN KEY ALLY TO AID ACCEPTANCE OF IMPERFECT FRUIT Ubilla says they would like to see more efforts to sensitise consumers towards accepting foods with aesthetic imperfections. “We also strongly promote the implementation of a true shared responsibility where the whole supply chain takes the burden of advancing on the sustainability journey of the banana industry, while respecting national environmental and labour laws, which in countries such as Ecuador are advanced. Additionally, Europe must fight food waste and loss across the supply chain by raising consumers’ awareness on the need to tolerate foods with aesthetic imperfections. In fact, the market today demands a perfect banana (e.g. without stains or hairline) causing food to be wasted and generating costs for the producer that today the market does not cover. In this regard, we do see Spain as allies, since we consid-

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South America

ing in these regions. The common Spanish language of the participants such as Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile also make it suitable for us to continue developing these markets. The timing of the fair is also perfect. It is a time of the year when you begin to do business with major exporters and importers. It is prior to the start of the season for different commodities.”

er its banana campaign from the Canary Islands ‘el de las manchitas’, an example of good practices to raise consumers’ awareness. Replicating a similar approach to bananas coming from third countries would make a great contribution to the global sustainability of the industry.”

AVOCADO AND EXOTICS FROM SOUTH AMERICA For Claudia Mardones, CEO of Liventus Global the controlled atmosphere experts, based in Santiago, Chile, Fruit Attraction and the country of Spain holds

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a great significance for her company. “In recent years, we have established connections with producers of berries and stone fruit from Spain. Our mission has been to present value propositions to them, to improve their efforts in the preservation and export of their produce. Spain continue to enhance their production and develop their marketing strategies, therefore our engagement with exporters becomes increasingly critical. Notably, markets such as Peru, Colombia, and Chile are also significant points of interest for us. We are keen to explore opportunities and continue collaborat-

Liventus as a global service provider to the fresh produce industry has as part of their mission to also assist exporters in their journey to introduce new products to markets or expand their reach to further destinations says Mardones. “We do this through using our expertise in controlled atmosphere (CA) and packaging. Over the past years, we’ve been working on developing the export of exotic and lesser-known commodities, such as Pitahaya and Physalis, to supply the European markets today.” Natalia Moranth, co-owner of Montana Fruits Fresh Produce in Colombia says participating in the Spain Fair is crucial for them given their focus on the European market. “It’s important to note that

passion fruit (gulupa) is only permissible in this market, while avocado has solid sales in many other regions. This trade fair allows us to negotiate with our customers, mainly about our primary avocado harvest in Colombia, running from

October to March, this harvest is central to our efforts. The fair offers the perfect platform to establish strong connections and strike beneficial deals with our business partners.”

Although Spain are big producers she sees the counter seasonal offer from Colombia as key. “Our harvests uniquely complement Spain’s demand by supplying the sizes and prices that make our fruit stand out. This synergy lets us provide a wider variety of products, appealing to European consumers and buyers. As we kick off our primary avocado season in Colombia, the Spain Fair stands out as an enticing chance for us. Our Latin roots create an undeniable bond with the Spanish way of life. These cultural connections make business interactions seem comfortable and productive. Given this backdrop, the Spain Fair is ideal for aligning our campaign strategy, closing valuable deals, and strengthening client relationships. This fair is essential for promoting our new product line, Tahiti Lime, which we aim to promote at the fair. The event’s value comes from its potential to acquire new customers, deepen our market insight, and pinpoint our client’s needs,” explains Moranth.  Marianela Ubilla mubilla@zulay.com Claudia Mardones info@liventusglobal.com Natalia Moranth nmoranth@montanafruits.com.co

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The new R&M building has been open since June on Peterselieweg in the Dutch Fresh Port Rotterdam (Ridderkerk). R&M, Looije Packing and IQ Packing have joined forces to support national and international suppliers of fruit and vegetables. In the coldstores there is room for 10.000 pallet positions, so the building is perfect for processing all kind of orders, from large to small. R&M is responsible for in- and outbound, stock management, cooling, customs, quality control and transshipment. Looije Packing and IQ Packing sorting the fruit and vegetables according to the quality policies and package them according to the customer's wishes, ranging from a large scale of repacking to packaging options. Looije Packing is specialized in vegetables and hard fruit and IQ Packing in soft fruit. With three companies under one roof, we can act quickly and we can often process the orders on the same day, depending on the size. By working closely with each other, we as companies know how to make optimal use of each other and what we are good at, namely the storage and packaging of fruit and vegetables. The strength of our collaboration is to operate as one team, to quickly coming up with a solution for the customer’s demands

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Italy

Global demand for yellow and red kiwi growing strongly

Italian kiwi harvest expected to be reduced

Prices and growing conditions are increasingly favoring the yellow kiwi and not the green. That’s what we learned from talking to some kiwi traders and growers in Italy, a country that has always been at the forefront of kiwi production in Europe, but in recent years has suffered from agronomic problems, mostly related to the climate change.

“I

believe that a large part of the problems facing Italian green kiwis,” says trader Maurizio Filippi, “are due to increasingly extreme weather conditions. I am referring in particular to summer temperatures, which even in July and August reached and exceeded 40°C in production areas where the average temperature is at least 6-7°C lower. All this causes stress to the plants, which increases evapotranspiration. To counteract this, the farmer has to irrigate more and more, which contributes to the weakening of the plants. Yellow kiwifruit, on the other hand, seems to be less affected by these climatic conditions at the moment, and more importantly, consumers are increasingly appreciating it”.

The result of all this is that last year, green kiwi was paid about €0.60 to €0.70 cents to the grower, while yellow kiwi was paid from €1.50 and up.

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INCREASED DEMAND FOR YELLOW AND RED KIWIS Patrizio Neri runs a company (Jingold) whose strength lies in the production of yellow and red kiwis. “We export all over the world, but Europe is our main market. When the borders were opened to export kiwis to China and Korea, we had higher expectations. Instead, rising logistics costs made Italian kiwis uncompetitive. This is also in view of the fact that the domestic production in China has increased”. Neri places great emphasis on customer service. “I think that to succeed in the kiwi industry today, there are two essential requirements. Firstly, managing club varieties, ensuring that the quantities available for purchase and the quality of the product are well controlled. Secondly, the best way to gain favor with supermarket chains is to provide them with

a product that is already packaged and ready for direct sale to customers. We’re finding that supermarkets want to deal more with the grower, but the grower has to be able to supply them with kiwis that are picked and packaged according to the supermarket’s criteria”.

The yellow and red kiwifruit harvests for 2023 will be lower than usual due to the recent weather conditions. However, we will have the same amount of produce as last year since we are increasing our production hectares. Additionally, we will have a larger amount of red kiwi available. Jingold grows 200 hectares of red kiwi in Italy. It is more difficult to produce red kiwi than green kiwi, as mistakes in production are harder to solve.

GROWTH PROSPECTS Italy’s green kiwifruit harvest in 2023 is still expected to be lower than normal. Filippi reports that the region of Emilia Romagna will be hit the hardest due to the catastrophic weather events such as frost, a flood, and several hailstorms. For the past five to six years, green kiwi yields in Italy, and especially in Emilia

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Italy

Romagna, have been decreasing. If yields fall below 25 tons per hectare, farmers will be losing money due to exponentially rising costs. We must act to correct the situation because multiple farmers are requesting to remove their plants to focus on growing yellow kiwis, which currently have higher yields and much higher prices.

ITALIAN KIWI EXPORT DATA According to the newest data available (2021 - 2022), compiled by the research organization CSO, Italian kiwi exports decreased by -8 percent compared to those of the previous marketing year, falling to a total of slightly less than 249,000 tons, a quantity similar to that of the 2019/20 period and far from the highest volumes reached in the 2018/19 period, when exports reached 285,000 tons. The value stands at approximately 448 million euros, which represents a decrease of -4 percent compared to the 2020/21 period.

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The reduction in exports is linked to a decrease in production. Last season, the amount of Italian kiwifruit sold internationally declined in all regions except the Far East, where Taiwan and India recorded strong sales. Almost 70% of the fruit was sent to the EU, with increases in shipments to Germany and Belgium, and a decline in shipments to Spain, France and the Netherlands.

Outside of the European Union, 7% of Italy’s kiwi exports go to North America, but shipments in 2022 show a decrease of -13%, with nearly 18,500 tons shipped to both the U.S. (-13%) and Canada (-15%), down from the previous marketing year.

more than 3,600 tons (+17% compared to the previous year), while shipments to Argentina remained at around 1,800 tons (-42% compared to 2020/21).

Shipments to non-European Union countries in Europe (27) also decreased to 7% of the total, which marks an 11% reduction from the 2020/21 season. In the UK, only 4% of the total was sent, representing a 15% drop from the previous campaign. However, exports to Switzerland showed a slight increase (+1%), while exports to Norway decreased by -3%. 

Shipments to South American countries also decreased by -11% over last season, accounting for 7% of the total. Brazil remained the top country with around 8,700 tons delivered, which is a 14% decrease from 2020/21. In contrast, shipments to Mexico increased by slightly

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Advertorial

Time for sustainable food transition If we are to continue producing sufficient good quality food for the global population, a sustainable food transition is required, urges Growers United. Three trends support the path to a sustainable food transition, according to Dutch grower cooperative Growers United: sustainable consumption, sustainable production and more sustainable supply chains. The group has been collaborating with its growers for years to make fruit vegetable production more sustainable, with the aim for 2040 being to achieve “100 per cent circular, fair and healthy”. Importance of nutrition Growers United says its aim is to continue inspiring consumers to make healthy choices and put fruit vegetables on the menu more frequently. “Together, we work towards the same goal: providing millions of consumers in Europe with delicious, sustainably grown and healthy fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and sweet peppers every week,” says Perry Dekkers, Commercial Director at Growers United. “Research shows that on average, 18 per cent of consumers in the UK see

nutrition as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. When making food choices, this group pays particular attention to properties such as vitamins, minerals, fibre, fresh, unprocessed and natural.” According to the cooperative, supermarket campaigns that encourage small changes to diets and exercise routines can be effective. “Giving people a subtle nudge in the right direction has already proven a highly effective tool with retailers to move consumers towards the fruit and vegetables department,” says Dekkers. Collaboration crucial To continue producing affordable food, Growers United warns, the supply chain must collaborate and accelerate sustainable production. “Steps we need to take include: more efficient use and recycling of raw materials, optimising production through automation and robotisation, and continuously focusing on the development and sustainable deployment of employees,” it advises. As a supplier, Growers United partners with retailers in sharing market

knowledge and insights that it says can give its customers an edge over competitors and improve sales results. “High quality is the standard in this regard,” says Dekkers. “Conversely, when retailers share information from their perspective, this can encourage suppliers to develop innovative products. Information exchange and collaboration in the supply chain give us all new insights and impetus, and encourage a new vision, innovative product development and specific sales. Which is exactly what we need to increase the value of existing products.”

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Germany

Roberto Tur from Fresh Fruit Alliance in Friedrichshafen:

“Regarding climate change, one should think in terms of cycles” The Tur family has been importing Spanish fruit and vegetables for 75 years. Today, the company based in Friedrichshafen serves wholesale and retail customers throughout Germany and neighboring countries. It provides conventionally and organically produced goods from the important growing regions of Spain. We spoke with Roberto Tur, the current managing director of the trading company, about this year’s season and the future of Spanish fruit and vegetable production. SLOW STONE FRUIT SEASON Among the annual seasonal items are stone fruits of all kinds. Overall, Tur looks back on the season so far with mixed feelings. “In the stone fruit sector, one has to differentiate quite clearly. Seville, for example, had a good season in terms of both price and volume. It dominated the market. Demand for nectarines was particularly high, while peaches were somewhat weaker. Murcia started the season about ten days later and the first forecasts pointed to good volumes. In the end, however, we have to conclude that the volumes were rather low, with food retailers

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adjusting to more favorable purchase and sales prices.”

For a while, it was hard to adhere to the programs agreed on. “As a result, we had to make additional purchases with additional costs of up to 20 per cent. In summary, the start of the season was rather bumpy. There were fewer nectarines overall and a high proportion were of smaller calibers. Subsequently, there was storm damage in several places in the Murcia region, which further decimated the nectarine yield. Under the circumstances, prices were far above last year’s

levels, but I doubt whether this actually compensated for the volume losses, smaller calibers and the generally weaker quality,” Tur continues.

The end of the season was marked by concentrated volumes from Murcia, Lerida and Italy, which in turn had a negative impact on the market. “However, the harvest in the late-growing region of Lerida was satisfactory overall. In general, we notice that the volumes tend to hit the market in a more concentrated way and the stone fruit season thus ends earlier. The capricious weather has further aggravated the situation this year. However, we do not have a definite result yet,” the specialist emphasizes. SATISFACTORY MELON SEASON IN ALMERÍA, GLOOMY MOOD IN MURCIA Parallel to the stone fruit season, the Fresh Fruit Alliance also offered Spanish melons and watermelons. Tur: “We look back on a successful campaign in Almería. There were no demand problems due

to the area reductions. Since the weather cooperated for the most part, quality and pricing were okay as well. Only at the end we saw a little more rainfall, but at that time the Almería season was already about to end. Murcia, on the other hand, started the season just at that stage with correspondingly low prices. “

Similar to stone fruits, showers and thunderstorms also severely affected the melon harvest. “The storms destroyed a substantial part of the crop. At times there was hardly any exportable produce, which in turn led to a gap in supply until the start of harvest in La Mancha. In the latter growing region, yields were okay. Prices were relatively low, but still above last year’s levels.” STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN THE TRADE As a direct importer, the Fresh Fruit Alliance acts as a link between the producers at the source and the German retail chains. It is extremely important to Tur to defend the interests of the growers, so that in the end all participants in the value chain can work economically. According to Tur, the economic viability of Spanish producers in particular has come under increasing pressure due to the adversities and the course set by the food retail sector. “Regarding climate change, one should think in terms of cycles. Because heat makes the produce blossom earlier, water shortages lead to smaller fruits and storms will destroy the harvest more and more often. In short, due to the climate, it is becoming increasingly difficult to plan the campaign and programs, although this is still common practice.”

This would require a comprehensive structural change. “The German consumer is not used to paying a lot for fruit and vegetables, which is why the food

retail sector is forced to keep prices low so that the goods are bought accordingly. This is aggravated by the strong competition between the chains and the challenges they have to deal with nowadays, such as loss of sales and increased costs, especially energy and labour costs. Efforts are already being made to raise prices and communicate this to consumers, but many consumers still reach for cheap fruit and vegetables. There are always price adjustments, which often do not correspond to the supply, but only force the demand.” WATER SCARCITY AND LAND REDUCTIONS Drought and lack of water availability are increasingly affecting large parts of Spain. At the moment, the drought is affecting the Motril area between Malaga and Almería in particular. According to current information, yield losses of up to 80 percent will occur here. In Valencia and Almería, a relatively normal harvest year is expected overall, and the same applies to large parts of the Murcia region. Tur: “In areas where we have been struggling with water shortages for years, we will have to abandon plantations sooner or later. In the field of cereals, such as maize and wheat, certain

plots are already no longer planted due to a lack of water resources.”

Nevertheless, a decline in area could also have a positive effect, Tur points to the example of persimmons. “For a long time we had an oversupply of persimmons with relatively cheap prices and high demand in the export market. Demand has declined visibly over the years, not least because of the numerous alternatives on the fruit shelf. The areas under cultivation have been greatly reduced, especially in recent years. Despite this reduction in acreage, demand can always be met at interesting prices. This year there will be an additional decline in volume, as the storms have destroyed many trees.

GERMANY REMAINS AN IMPORTANT EXPORT MARKET Despite numerous challenges, exports to Germany will remain an important driver of the Spanish agricultural economy, Tur believes, even though the market is extremely competitive these days. “Due to the aforementioned adversities, there have been supply bottlenecks, which is why people have had to use other countries. These alternative sources of supply are, in my opinion, particularly important in order to ensure continuous supply

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Germany

to German retailers and to keep the range of goods constant.”

Meanwhile, the export of Spanish organic goods is developing particularly strongly. “We are observing that the large shippers are increasingly producing organic goods as well. At the same time, the older, smaller organic companies are

gradually disappearing from the market. Last year it sometimes happened that conventional goods were traded at higher prices compared to organic products. Those who have a broader customer structure, offering conventional goods in case of low demand for organic are undoubtedly at an advantage here. On the German market, demand is now

shifting towards food retailers and discounters, while the specialist natural food trade is confronted with sales losses. This development is in turn due to fundamental changes in consumer behavior as well as cost structures.”  www.vstur.de

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Miguel Aceituno, of Haciendas Bio:

“This is a good time for platerines” normal for us, with a good demand and acceptable prices for our organic fruit in the markets in which we’ve been present.”

“Just like in the conventional market, in the organic there have been times of oversupply. This usually becomes more noticeable when France’s production arrives, and this year it has been especially noticeable, with great volumes available for some products, like peaches.” “As for apricots, it has been a good campaign from a productive point of view thanks to the fact that we have some very good varieties and that, overall, there has been a lower supply of organic apricots.”

Plums are the only stone fruit still being harvested at the moment in a season in which, fortunately, the late spring frosts and the pictures of flowers covered in a layer of frost remained only a bad memory for most. In general, there was still a recovery of the volumes compared to the previous two years, although as always, not for everyone.

“I

t has been a difficult campaign at an agronomic level. There have been no major frosts or hail damage as in other years, but the weather has had a significant impact on its development. Almost all producing regions in Spain have been affected by drought and water shortages, and although calibers have remained homogeneous at some points, there have also been periods with very small calibers due to the lack of water,” said Miguel Aceituno, of Haciendas Bio. “At the beginning of the season, the first fruits of the extra-early and early varieties are usually smaller, but this has been more noticeable this year, and the greater supply has not facilitated their marketing.” In addition to the lack of irrigation and greater load of fruit on the trees, the good weather generally caused the production in various regions to arrive earlier, leading to greater overlap between Spanish crops. “We cannot overlook that the good weather in February accelerated the setting of the earliest varieties, and that the cold weather in March caused a greater loss than was estimated at the time, and

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also considerably delayed the harvest of mid-season varieties. Thus, some varieties from Murcia overlapped with those from areas of Huelva and Seville, and the early fruit of Lleida and Extremadura also overlapped, so all regions were supplying almost the same varieties.”

“This large supply caused there to be some critical moments for peaches and flat peaches in the conventional market. In fact, flat peaches have not been able to recover since July,” says Miguel. “Nectarine is a fruit that usually does well, but plums have been affected by volume shortages this year.” “In any case, despite these occasional problems at specific times of the campaign, overall it has been a year with a good product turnover and prices that, on average, will be good.” “At Haciendas Bio, have seen our volume drop by around 30% compared to last year, although this has more to do with a change in the varieties we produce. In general, we can say that things have been

“Lastly, we cannot forget talking about platerines, which have done quite well,” says Miguel. “During the 12 weeks of the campaign, we have been present in almost every market of Europe and Scandinavia. We’ve been able to deliver good quality, very tasty fruit which has been well received in the market. This is a good time for platerines, a product that still has plenty of room for growth. Sometimes, platerines have been mistakenly presented as an alternative to nectarines, but their flavor and shape makes them a unique and distinct product.” “While consumption seems to be down overall, things have gone well for us in the organic fruit segment, with sales at the same level as in other years and acceptable prices. Haciendas Bio is able to offer a wide range of fruits and vegetables all year round, and we try to keep the prices and the quality up while providing a good service. We believe this has allowed us to have a relatively acceptable stone fruit season, at least based on what our customers tell us.” “Stone fruit will be followed by kiwifruit, pomegranate and kakis, which we produce organically in Badajoz. We will also have a vegetable season in the greenhouses of Almeria, and we hope to achieve the same good results there.” 

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Spain

Álvaro González and Juan Miguel González, of TropicSur:

“TropicSur starts the 2023 national mango campaign with the goal of marketing more than 10% of the total volume” of compliance in terms of prices, as well as the treatment we provide. The growth that we foresee is a result of how well we do things. We’ve had to work hard to achieve these figures, because we are a family business that is strongly focused on working with tropical fruit of Spanish origin. We only started looking into imported fruit a few years to be able to meet the needs of our customers and provide a year-round service.

“10 YEARS AGO, WE WOULD HAVE NEVER EXPECTED SUCH A SEVERE DROUGHT IN MALAGA” The mango acreage currently exceeds 5,000 hectares, 90% of which are located in Malaga. In 2022, the annual production amounted to almost 30,400 tons, according to Álvaro González. This was a record production and was already marked by drought, with smaller calibers than those of previous years. “The first prices this year for the box containing calibers 6 to 12 amount to around 9-10 Euro, with prices at origin of around 1.50/1.60 Euro per kilo.”

Tropicsur is starting a new mango campaign with the company managed independently again by the González brothers (Álvaro and Juan Miguel), following the split-up in June of this year of the Catalan company Cultivar, with which they maintain a friendly business relationship.

“T

he campaign has only just started and, all things considered, we are quite happy, as we have been marketing similar volumes to those of last season,” said the González brothers to FreshPlaza. “We know that we will finish the mango season earlier than last year, approximately in week 38-39 with the later varieties, while in normal conditions, it would last for 3 to 4 weeks longer; however, we expect a very important growth in the total mango marketing quota. Of the 6-7 million kilos, at most, that Spain is going

to produce, we expect to market about 10-15% of the total, compared to last year’s 5%.”

“We feel very proud of what we are doing. Tropicsur’s slogan claims that “OUR ORIGIN MAKES US UNIQUE”, and we are again highlighting the value of this, in a year in which producers are in need of more support from marketers. Not many knew us a few years ago, but producers have increasingly turned to mango cultivation with us after seeing our high level

“We are now dealing with a really severe drought, but we have been suffering this problem for several years. We are currently going through the worst of it, and although it is having more of an impact in La Axarquia, the problem is spreading to other parts of Malaga and the rest of Andalusia, raising the concerns of agricultural producers.” “Some farms have had to literally leave their trees and their production to their fate, as they don’t have a single liter of water to irrigate their fields.” The situation is in fact already irreversible for many areas, and now the administrations are running out of time to reverse the situation as urgently as possible,” said Alvaro. Otherwise, the subtropical sector of La Axarquia is doomed to disappear. “We are not fully directly affected by the situation, as although much of the mango we market comes from La Axarquia, our AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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avocado and mango plantations are located in the Guadalhorce Valley, where the situation is not as severe.

As for avocados, we have very recently launched a new plantation in the Region of Valencia” to be able to spread the risk and minimize the risk of shortages.

“We have been working on the marketing of Valencian avocados already for 7 or 8 years; in fact, we opened a new handling center in 2022 in the town of Pedreguer, in the province of Alicante, and we have also reached an agreement with a Valencian cooperative in the town of Villalonga to provide coverage to suppliers in the province of Valencia. There are areas there that are more suitable for avocado cultivation than others,

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and thanks to our expertise in this area, we have been able to pick a highly ideal location for our plantation.”

“In any case, we are not the only ones acquiring farms there,” said Alvaro. “One of the advantages of the Region of Valencia compared to other producing areas is that it has a much greater water supply, and that is why the tropical sector has been investing a lot there over the last 2-3 years.” Almost the same applies to Huelva and Portugal, although those are also now starting to have some water restrictions.” “It is important to remember that while there is water available in the Region of Valencia today, there are no guarantees for the future. 10 years ago, we would

have never expected Malaga to run out of water, as we’ve seen happen.”

“At this point, it would be good if the administrations fought to ensure that all authorizations and all wells and ways to extract water are truly legal, because unfortunately, there has been a lot of fraud concerning the handling of this essential good, and today we are seeing the consequences.” 

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Germany

Jonás Cano of PPO Services AG on berry imports from Spain:

“All berry crops suffered in the end, raspberries in particular” Weeks of cold followed by persistent heat made berry cultivation in the Spanish growing region of Huelva extremely difficult this year. As a result, only very limited quantities could be exported abroad in some cases, which presented correspondingly great challenges to all those in the supply chain. Jonás Cano, buyer and seller at the internationally active fruit trading company PPO Services AG, based in Switzerland, looks back on an eventful season and ventures a look into the future.

he first cold front hit the Iberian peninsula in late January/early February. Temperatures were between 0 and 3 degrees Celsius for several days, whereas they normally range between 10 and 20 degrees, Cano says. “These are very low temperatures and unusual weather conditions, which ultimately meant that we were unable to stock parts of the food retail sector with Spanish goods. I have been in the business for 17 years, but I never experienced such limited quantities strawberries at the beginning of the season. The availability of raspberries was a disaster as well. We had to help ourselves to supplementary imports in Greece and other places. The Spanish goods that hit the market were procured at massively higher prices of up to 40 to 50 percent above the previous year’s levels. We lost a lot of money, not only on the part of the importers, but along the entire value chain.”

There was hardly any talk of a market recovery, Cano says, because after a somewhat warmer phase, a second cold front followed in mid-March. “The situation was more or less the same as during the first cold spell, with temperatures staying low for about ten days. Then, prices climbed again. We worked from early in the morning until late in the evening to organize the goods.” But the low was by no means over, on the contrary: it went from one extreme to the other, Cano continues. “April and May were marked by extreme heat. At the beginning of April, temperatures were already above 30 degrees in large parts of Spain, which is why the fruit grew extremely quickly. This has not only led to an abundant supply of produce, but also to considerable quality problems. All berry crops eventually suffered, raspberries in particular.”

The early summer that followed was extremely hot as well. “We had to end the Spanish strawberry campaign in May. Some of the plastic was removed from the blueberries, which normally grow in foil tunnels, otherwise the fruit would have been burnt completely. Meanwhile, due to the heat, Swiss strawberries came onto the market very early and in correspondingly large quantities, so that in June we again had to deal with a hole in the availability. This in turn meant that we were able to import a record quantity of strawberries from the Netherlands and Belgium in June. At the end of August, we are still importing strawberries, mainly from Belgium. At the moment, we can offer domestic raspberries for the most part,” Cano further explains.

IMPENDING SHORTAGE OF BLUEBERRIES, PREMIUM BLACKBERRIES FROM SWITZERLAND In the case of blueberries, on the other hand, there are signs of a shortage. Cano: “I have the feeling that blueberries will be in short supply for the next four weeks. There has been a lot of rain in the Netherlands, which is why there is less produce. Romanian production is coming to the end. Poland will be on the market for a few more weeks, but has not been convincing in terms of quality so far. Peru will not be fully represented on the market until the second week of September. AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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South Africa is also late. Prices are shifting upwards, but they are still within the limits. In July, blueberry prices reached an all-time low, as many countries of origin, whether Holland, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Poland or Peru, were present on the market. Supply exceeded the demand. By the end of the month, the situation had completely turned around.” One of the Swiss company’s core competencies is supplying the domestic market with fruits and vegetables of all kinds. PPO Services AG’s main customers include leading food retail chains in Switzerland and throughout the DACH region. In the area of soft fruits, the company also attaches great importance to good, sustainable partnerships at home and abroad. Blackberries and blueberries, for example, can be offered in summer from Swiss cultivation. Cano: “We have found a dynamic and innovative producer with

whom we maintain a close partnership. We realize that the blackberry market has potential. Through these projects, for example, we are able to supply the trade with premium blackberries until the end of September.”

WATER AS A DECISIVE FACTOR FOR THE FUTURE In the course of climate change, the issue of water availability, i.e. the sustainable use of water as a resource, plays an important role. Not just in Spain, but in the total global fruit and vegetable sector. Cano: “In the berry-growing region of Huelva, we work exclusively with producers who have the Spring Water Certificate and who have the issue under control. Nevertheless, there is a lack of water here as well. During the aforementioned hot period in April/May, our producers were unable to supply the crops with enough water, which led to a relatively high pro-

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portion of smaller fruits, especially in the case of strawberries. In some places, certain plots were not harvested at all.”

“The water issue is both a huge challenge and a cause for concern for everyone. We don’t know what the next season will be like, or indeed the future of cultivation there. I also don’t rule out that at some point there will be a fundamental change in Spanish berry cultivation, perhaps moving production from the south to the north. You can already see a similar trend in Spanish lettuce cultivation, for example,” Cano concludes.  www.ppo.ch

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AI, robotics sending fruit and vegetable chains back to the drawing board Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots’ rapid emergence will radically change fruit and vegetable chains configuration. There will be fewer production lines, and products will be processed more in batches. That is how Erik Pekkeriet, Agro Food Robotics Program Manager at the Wageningen University Research (WUR), envisions the future. He does not think new systems and configurations’ affordability need to be bottlenecks. Regarding components, a robot is not much more expensive; and because of AI, the software required for picking and grading products will largely develop itself.

irst, Erik zooms to the chain’s end, a packaging line’s end. That’s mostly when packed, labeled products leave the turnstile. “Robots can move and handle standard-size trays, boxes, crates, and pallets. At DCs, track and trace and autonomous driving vehicles take care of intralogistics. These logistics carriers aren’t line dependent but can be sent to any station. In the food sector, fruit and vegetable companies still lag when, in principle, there are no more obstacles,” he begins. At the chain’s top end, not nearly everything has been solved. For example, a commercial tomato or bell pepper harvesting robot still seems a ways off. How-

ever, gathering product data via robots and drones with sensors is already under discussion. “These have the great advantage of reaching every plant. That allows for crop monitoring and condition charting down to the square meter. This data is of great value for the logistical process that follows. Also, fresh product handling and quality checking are still often done by hand during packaging.”

LINKING PRODUCTS AND DATA WUR’s Agro Food Robotics Team is developing PicknPack, a fully automated, generic, flexible, self-cleaning packaging robot. This project has a threefold scientific challenge:

Develop a packaging robot that picks up a product and assesses its quality. It must handle different types of products. It must package these products in a customized, flexible manner.

WUR researchers have now shown that you can use PicknPack for products including TOV, chicken breasts, and grapes. In the packaging process, products and their data remain linked at crate level. Cameras shoot images for sophisticated computer programs, which recognize the produce in the crate. The same software then controls robotic grippers to remove the product quickly and undamaged and place it in customized packages. The package is then sealed and printed with the necessary product information. This technology can be considered a cost-effective alternative to a traditional packaging line that incorporates a lot of overcapacities.

“I’m amazed at how little has been standardized. Every packaging company makes its own line. Such a line costs a few million. And, if there’s no product AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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or a part fails, the whole line comes to a standstill. It can be much more efficient when you think in modules and scalability,” says Erik, pointing out that regarding components, robots are no more expensive than packaging lines. However, developing a software program that controls the system is costly. REDESIGNING CHAINS AI solves the issue of product recognition, positioning, and grading. Deep learning algorithms can cope with large amounts of unstructured data and are already widely used in areas such as image recognition. “Initially, we had to specify features to analyze the camera images. Now we use machine learning with training data. That makes this kind of robot application increasingly interesting for companies.” Still, especially in the beginning, AI does not work 100%. So it is vital to design a workaround to handle that last five percent failure. But AI even deals with that uncertainty quite well. MOBILE FOOD-SAFE PACKAGING UNITS A PicknPack packaging robot is far more compact than a traditional packaging line. That is because products do not have to be placed on a conveyor belt. They go directly from the harvest crate into the package. These systems are thus suitable for setting up at a cultivation company or moving around wherever needed.

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Internal sensors continuously measure the machine’s cleanliness and sanitize them only when and where needed, without requiring lots of water and hoses. “Camera systems are well suited to detecting contamination such as EHEC. That improves quality, and you eliminate the risk of contamination. Meat packaging plants already use these,” Erik explains. Thanks in part to AI, PicknPack systems will soon be able to easily switch between different products. The goal is a flexible robot that chooses the right ‘hands’ each time. It can then quickly switch between a gripper for cucumbers and suction cups for tomatoes. More complicated systems are already being considered. A PicknPack robot is being developed in Wageningen that packs soup or meal package ingredients together. A similar system could even process chicken fillets in a food-safe way. LOGISTICS NETWORK Since data and products remain linked, logistics from the grower to the sales point are much more flexible. You can use AI to anticipate the entire chain’s risk management better. That could include live data from the supply chain with sensors tracking products at growers and data that, at carriers, can be added to models, leading to appropriate action. Pekkeriet: “You can start thinking in terms of separate batches, which means

you don’t have to decide where to send the batch in question until much later in the process. Automated distribution systems let you get products through all the logistics flows to the right place.” If all the fruit and vegetable partners return to the drawing board, stop thinking linearly per product, and, together, embrace new technology, Agro Food Robotics Team envisions a much more efficiently structured sector. PicknPack will save a lot of labor on the assembly line, which benefits an increasingly tight labor market. Plus, the compact system not only provides flexibility in the logistics process, it also means a reduced footprint.

The fruit and vegetable sector is not known as one that pioneers new developments. Over the next five years, WUR computer-vision, robotics, and artificial intelligence experts are going to change that by further developing the PicknPack robot in collaboration with industry partners. “R&D is expensive, so we want to design packaging robots you can use for many different products,” concludes Erik.  erik.pekkeriet@wur.nl

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Germany

Raymond van Ojen (Xenia) and Janina Bembenek (Obst vom Bodensee/DOSK) on the Xenia brand launch at Fruit Attraction:

“We have been able to successfully expand our presence in more and more export countries”

he popularity of the pear variety Xenia is constantly increasing, which can be seen, among other things, in the growing acreage as well as the higher demand internationally. Janina Bembenek and Raymond van Ojen shared their experiences about the development of Xenia on the German-speaking as well as the global market. Bembenek is Head of Marketing at Obst vom Bodensee Vertriebsgesellschaft, responsible for the Xenia® brand on the German market at the German Fruit Variety Consortium (DOSK). Van Ojen is Sales Manager at Xenia® Europa B.V., responsible for the international marketing of Xenia. Among other things,

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he is also part of the pan-European marketing team in the repositioning of the Xenia brand.

HIGH EXPORT POTENTIAL FOR AFRICA AND ASIA “In Germany, we had a crop volume of about 3,600 tons. With about 90 percent of the marketed crop as Xenia Class I, we have a premium product that was brought to the storage locations in top quality by the growers,” says Bembenek.

“Demand for Xenia in Europe has been steadily increasing. Last season in particular, we successfully expanded our pres-

ence in more and more export countries. One milestone was new partnerships in Sweden, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Morocco. This shows the growing recognition for our quality standards, which we continuously maintain and market under the Xenia brand,” says van Ojen. “Our product is characterized by outstanding storability, which makes it extremely attractive for both domestic and international markets. The top quality along the value chain has strengthened our brand image internationally and generated interest for export to Africa and Asia.”

Raymond van Ojen, Xenia

PROFIT FROM WEAK ABATE HARVEST IN ITALY In recent years, Xenia has benefited from weak yields of the Abate variety in Italy. “In the coming season, this will be even more exciting, as Abate is experiencing a massive slump and Xenia will meet an empty market in the premium segment. In addition to the excellent varietal characteristics, Xenia offers top quality and top calibres to partners in the food retail sector, which will also lead the trend towards pears on the fruit shelf with a strong and innovative marketing concept under the new ‘Pear Your Mind’ campaign,” Bembenek is convinced. Xenia is a “sales driver” for the trade, says Bembenek: “A steadily increasing demand and popularity are evident among consumers in Germany as well. The task now is to strategically expand the core buyer base. Since Xenia complies with the three consumer purchasing requisites, namely taste, regionality and longevity, it is convincing more and more customers both in integrated production and in the organic sector.”

The organic season runs from October to April, he pointed out. “The main markets for the organic produce are Germany, Austria, France and Sweden. In Germany, we are seeing increasing demand for regional organic pears, Xenia in particular. We have expanded the area under cultivation accordingly. Here at Lake Constance in particular, the conditions for pears are ideal and our growers are

enthusiastic about Xenia,” Bembenek notes.

INSPIRATION FOR NEW MARKETING CONCEPT FROM START-UPS The new brand positioning is intended to appeal to younger target groups in addition to the core buyer base. “A strong social media activation and a planned national out-of-home advertising campaign can trigger a Germany-wide discourse to create new demand for the fruit range. In doing so, we use tools that primarily start-ups have perfected to successfully anchor so-called ‘love brands’ in the FMCG industry and turn target groups with purchasing power into loyal fans through the brand.” The marketing manager also points out that in the apple segment, new club brands are entering the market every year, competing for the coveted spots at the PoS. “Regarding pears, we are expecting similar developments in the coming years. Since Xenia has already established itself as a premium product over the past decade, our goal is to position the brand as ‘unparalleled’, as Pink Lady once was.” Xenia’s main customers include retail chains in the Netherlands as well as in Germany. “Xenia is a pear that has a lasting appeal to end consumers,” emphasizes van Ojen. Bembenek adds, “In addition, Xenia has also gained a loyal clientele in the upscale gastronomy sector thanks to its processing properties. Our season runs from October to July, providing a

Janina Bembenek, Obst van Bodensee/DOSK

reliable supply of top quality for all trade partners.” Other countries where Xenia has achieved success include France, Austria, Hungary and Scandinavia, he said. Apart from inflation-related costs, the price has not changed in the past, he said.

INCREASING CULTIVATION AREAS FOR XENIA IN GERMANY “Xenia has been successfully cultivated at Lake Constance since 2011. Currently, we already have about 120 hectares, with increasing marketing volumes due to the many young orchards. Our partners in the food retail sector value our many years of expertise in pear cultivation, especially where Xenia is concerned. Our other producer organization in Ingelheim, which is marketed by Obst vom Bodensee, has around five hectares. In Germany, the relevant producer organizations have also joined the Xenia Club and will enter the marketing market in the coming seasons. These include Landgard in the Rhineland, VEOS in the east, which is already actively marketing 25 hectares, and Faby and Elbe-Obst in the north, each with around five hectares. “In the organic sector, Bio Augustin and Bio Münch are also involved.”  raymond@xenia-eu.eu janina.bembenek@obst-vom-bodensee.de

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Poland

Según Jakub Krawczyk:

“Spain has a very modern infrastructure, but without water they can have problems with their crops” There will be lower quantities for certain varieties this apple season in Poland. According to Jakub Krawczyk, export manager for Polish apple exporter Appolonia, overseas export will start around midOctober: “As every year, we started the Polish apple harvest with the summer varieties, of which there were a bit less compared to the previous season. Varieties like Gala should have normal quantities this year. We started our first sales of Gala around mid-September and will be able to export them overseas around October. Some varieties will have slightly lower quantities this year, especially Jonagold and Idared, but this is all dependant on the region of the growers. We’ll have a full overview of the stocks by the time we reach Fruit Attraction in Madrid.”

here’s been a lot of hot weather during the summer, which had an impact on both the fruits and production costs, Krawczyk explains. “The summer temperatures are increasing just about every year,

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in combination with less rain. This combo has an effect on the size and quality of the fruits, which means we have to make use of our irrigation systems more often than before. This in turn increases the cost of

production. In some of the Polish regions there was also hail, which means not all of the fruits will be of class 1.”

Countries like Spain, Italy and Greece are important factors for the Polish apple trades, either as available markets to export apples to, or as competitors, Krawczyk states: “Southern countries of Europe have always been important for us. Our sales in this region did increase in the past few years, as we started working with new companies and our previous clients managed to buy more volumes than before. But the scale of sales depends on the season, as some seasons we’ll be able to do large volumes, but sometimes volumes are only average. If the weather destroys the crop in Southern Europe, we can do very good volumes there. Sometimes, it’s also a matter of price, if we are able to fit into their price target range,

we see an increase in shipments there. It basically all depends on the quantities in Italy, France or Serbia.”

One of the competitors is more important than others, as they have an advantage when it comes to export towards Asia,

Krawczyk says. “For us, the most important are the quantities in Italy, because they are a very big exporter of apples. This makes them our main competitor on the export markets which we’re targeting. We’re also observing that Serbian apples are present in more and more countries,

which makes them another competitor of ours. Mostly, our customers compare our prices to those two countries. Having a faster connection to Asia gives Italy a large advantage in prices. Unfortunately, Polish ports have a very long connection to Asia and they are mostly not direct,

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which is causing big delays in transportation to the ports of destination. So in terms of transport time to some destinations, which is very important for the quality, Southern countries are in a better position than us.” Spain isn’t just a competitor, but if heatwaves and water shortages persist, there could even be more opportunities to export apples to the Spanish market. Appolonia is already sending some shipments to Spain every season according to Krawczyk: “Big heat waves and low water levels in Spain could affect their apples production badly, as well as their overall agricultural production. Customers that we are working with in Spain are constantly increasing their apple import volumes and for many Polish companies it’s a very important market. Spain has very modern production and packing infrastructure, but without water they can have problems achieving a good crop of apples. We have no knowledge how they will deal with this problem, but if this situation repeats itself in the coming years it’ll mean a large problem in their entire production.”

“Spain is indeed an important market for us, not only because of the volumes we can send there. Our company has been selling to Spain for nine years and we can say only positive things about our main Spanish customers. The Spanish market is very different than others, because there is something cool about Spanish customers, they are very relaxed, there is never any rush and all their problems can be solved without any nervous situation. We also see that Spain is acting as a gateway to many other markets, that we couldn’t reach alone, so it’s a win-win situation for the both of us.”

Appolonia will be exhibiting during Fruit Attraction and have done so for the past years. For Krawczyk it’s one of his favorite events: “This will be the seventh time on Fruit Attraction, we are there every year, and we see dynamic growth in terms of meaning for our sector when it comes to this exhibition. In our opinion they are becoming the most important fair in Europe. One of the advantages of them is that they are not too large and also not too small, people who are participating in them know exactly what I mean.”

“For apples producers it’s especially a good time because it’s during the crop and we already have many information which are helping us to agree on programs with our customers. There are also many customers outside of Europe so it’s a perfect place to meet with them. I can also add that communication with exhibition organizers is on very good level and they are always very helpful with everything before and during event, so it’s also a big plus. All things combined makes Fruit Attraction a perfect place for doing business. Consequently we want to carry out our production plans with our customers in Europe and also we want to establish our position on markets like India, Vietnam or South America,” Krawczyk concludes.  Jakub.krawczyk@appolonia.pl

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India

“Strong demand for coconuts from Spanish fresh produce players” into chunks and sold in ready-to-eat cups, making coconuts much more convenient to consume.”

The coconut consumption in Spain drastically increased in the past four years, jumping from 3.4 million euros to 5.9 million euros. A significant jump in this fruit’s consumption can be noticed between the year 2020 and 2021, during which the Covid pandemic was at its peak. According to Kaushal Khakhar, CEO of Indian fresh produce exporter Kay Bee Exports, it makes sense coconut got more popular during the pandemic:

“

Indeed, coconut is a high health quotient fruit, with lots of nutrients to strengthen one’s immunity system. The way that coconuts are being consumed in Europe and in Spain has also evolved these past few years. While the ‘traditional’

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demand for whole de-husked coconuts that will be sold either on the wholesale market or in retail stores has jumped; consumers are more and more searching for fresh-cut fruits. Consequently, some of the fruits imported will then be cut

The largest volume of coconuts imported in Spain originates by far from Vietnam, with approximately 5,800 tons. This is followed by Ivory Coast, which shipped approximately 1,300 tons of coconuts. “Although both these origins are well-established in the Spanish market, coconuts of Indian origin are progressively gaining market shares. Such origin can ensure a steady supply and consistent quality thus, solving some of the challenges that Spain was facing with some of their traditional origins. Moreover, fast transit times between India and most European ports (20 to 25 days) and affordable sea-freight support the growing demand for Indian coconuts,” Khakhar explains. Khakhar states that Spain is becoming an increasingly more important market for their coconut exports: “While this product is a relatively new addition to Kay Bee’s portfolio, we already see a strong demand from the Spanish fresh produce players. They are keen to engage on longterm programs with quality conscious Indian exporters such as us, who can guarantee a year-round supply. In India, coconut is available round the year with a consistent high quality. The months of April to June are peak production, though availability is generally good in the other months also. Apart from the mature and fresh cut coconuts, Spain and Europe

Your personal partner, locally situated in Spain, to get you fully transparent and discrete to the correct suppliers.

in general present large opportunities for coconuts in various other forms, both processed and unprocessed.”

The fact consumption is increasing also has to do with various uses for coconuts, with both drinks as well as an ingredient being used in Asian cooking, which is also becoming more popular in Europe, Khakhar explains. “For example, while mature coconuts are mostly used for their flesh, fresh young coconuts have a high liquid content. Coconut water is perceived to be a healthy drink and thus fulfils the expectations of modern, health-conscious European consumers. Moreover, because they are rich in potassium coconut water is a natural isotonic drink that helps rehydration. With Europe being the largest importer of desiccated coconuts (more than 30% of global imports), this product represents a sizable opportunity to explore. Although it is being used as a baking ingredient for many years, it is gaining attention thanks to the interest of European consumers for Asian cooking. In 2020, Europe imports of desiccated coconut reached 118 thousand tonnes; amounting 211 million euros.” India offers a wide range of coconuts varieties and sizes and is therefore able to cater to the requirements of all customers, despite the longer transit time, Khakhar states: “It is the consistent quality of India’s fruits, good value for money and adherence to the agreed specifications that give Spanish importers the confidence to entrust Indian’s exporters with yearly supply programs. For example, the adherence to minimum weights is assured by stringent quality control processes at the time of sorting and grading. Every cargo is optimally palletised to avoid breakage in transit. This, in addition to better shipping methods have

led to better quality on arrival. This has helped Indian coconuts establish a reputation as a reliable supplier and from there gain market shares over the usual origins.”

Kay Bee is also including fresh cut coconuts in their offering as of now, which according to Khakhar has been successful so far. “Following the market trend for convenient fruits, we have also included fresh-cut fruits onto our portfolio. In our BRC Grade AA+ certified high care unit, we transform coconuts into chunks that will then be shipped either in bulk or in a shelf-ready format. Our extensive knowledge of retailers’ requirements and packaging enable us to customize packaging (cups, punnets…) and brand it to avoid as much rehandling as possible after its landing. This represents the most time and cost-effective solution for retailers.”

export@kaybeeexports.com

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of 19,247 million nuts in 2021-22, India accounted for 31.45% of the world’s total production. It has a robust domestic market and is now making its presence felt in the international markets too. We expect to see a boom in the domestic consumption of coconuts in the months of September and October – during which important festivals take place – however the production is still far sufficient to guarantee an undisturbed supply of fruits for the export market,” Khakhar concludes. 

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Spain

Spain: No distinction in the market between open-field and hydroponic lettuce Spain is one of the largest producers of lettuce in Europe. Favorable climate conditions have historically accommodated open-field cultivation for this crop, which can be grown quite consistently throughout the year. However, issues with soil degradation and water quality may put a strain on lettuce growers. Growers in North America, especially in California, are very much aware of that, with all the issues plaguing the Salinas Valley - the lettuce basket of the US. To keep the same level of production, many brought the cultivation indoors such as a greenhouse, and resorted to hydroponics. That has proven beneficial not only from a cultivation standpoint but also from a market standpoint. With the increased consumer awareness of the origin of products and the way those are manufactured, the environmental benefits of hydroponics could be monetized also outside a mere opex perspective. The same argument, however, cannot be made for Spain. Yet, hydroponic lettuce cultivation is present in the country. So, what is happening?

pain heavily relies on greenhouses and hydroponics, yet lettuce doesn’t really seem to be the main crop. “We do

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know that Spain has a greenhouse area of around 75,000 hectares and that the percentage of vegetable crops is very high.

The stars are usually tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. Lettuces, on the other hand, can be grown well in the open air, so many traditional farmers chose to avoid the initial investment in the greenhouse even if it costs them more in irrigation water and weather problems,” said Javier Huete Lázaro, Business Development of J. Huete Greenhouses. “Growers obtain important yields producing lettuce in open-field still, so many of them think that hydroponics and a greenhouse or tunnel is not necessary. We firmly believe that hydroponics and greenhouses can help to face climatic change and soil degradation. Firstly, because a greenhouse produces near cities, the carbon footprint is reduced. Secondly, because hydroponics doesn’t use soil, obviously. Greenhouses and hydroponics can work with less water irrigation, too. All of this makes us think that, in the future, both options (for producing lettuce, tomatoes, or fruits, and so on) can be increased in Spain and other parts of the world with

high temperatures, droughts, and climatic problems. Yet, we don’t see the future! So it’s very difficult to say.”

‘HYDROPONICS NOT CONSIDERED AN ADDED VALUE’ “I think it’s a consumer awareness issue,” says Donald Gartland from NGS, a company specializing in hydroponics systems out of Spain. “If you look at consumers in Northern Europe, they are more aware of product seasonality, and how those are produced. Everybody wants to hear that the veggie they are consuming has a very low carbon footprint, and is produced locally with fair labor practices. Such a thing is not much present in Spain.” In other words, Spanish consumers are not as aware as their Northern European counterparts about the story behind a product. “Unlike in California, for instance, in Spain you wouldn’t see ‘hydroponic’ on the traceability label of a product. That’s because it’s not really considered an added value at the moment,” Donald points out. But even if very few or any lettuce have the hydroponic label, does that mean that there’s no hydroponic lettuce cultivation at all in Spain? “That’s not true,” Donald remarks. NGS has indeed worked on a few lettuce hydroponic projects, the most notable one being a hydroponic iceberg lettuce cultivation. “This system was installed in the open field, so it’s not your usual hydroponic greenhouse lettuce project.” Climate conditions in Spain are indeed quite favorable for growing lettuce out in the open, so going for a greenhouse structure wouldn’t make much sense. Despite that, even hydroponic lettuce growers wouldn’t qualify their product as hydroponic for consumers. “Again, it’s a matter of consumer awareness. As long as there’s not some sort of push, from the government level for instance, that highlights the environmental and production benefits of going hydroponic, then consumers would hardly realize the importance of such a mode of production.” In other words, in Spain, there’s no distinction between an open-field lettuce market and a hydroponic lettuce market.

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Spain

Within this context, enter vertical farms. Many of these operations have sprouted around the world, and of course, Spain is no less. Given the lack of consumer awareness and the prevalence of open-field farmers, could vertical farms play a significant role in the market of the future? The people at IsiFarmer, a platform that connects vertical farming producers with consumers, believe that the vertical farming industry is still very much in the infant stage, in Spain. “It’s a a stage where a lot of local and national producers do not still see the great benefit of these operation, and their reasoning is based on cost and profitability perspective, right now. In Spain, there’s still a lot of land, there’s less water, but enough to make do. This however until we reach the next big water shortage crisis, which will undoubtedly come soon. In that sense, a lot of consumers don’t feel the direct need for vertical farming. The market is not mature. Growers producing at a large scale in Spain are not embracing this entirely. Rather, only in certain cases they are doing small examples, small R&D,” says Marcos Enriques, founder of Isifarmer. THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WITH BERRIES That is why the vertical farm AloAlto has decided not to compete with outdoor lettuce growers but rather hit a completely different market segment. Strawberry, that is. “Unit economics are hard for leafy greens, you are competing with outdoor growers that sometimes produce at a fraction of the cost of a vertical farm. You put yourself in a tough position if you are not providing a product that is very different or outright unknown in the market. That’s why we are growing a unique Japanese strawberry vari-

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ety that has never before been cultivated in Europe”, says Alejandro Casacuberta, co-founder of AloAlto. “In the end, the customer values price and quality. Unless one of them is much better than everything else, they will not go for it.”

Prices have indeed gone up since COVID, especially lettuce, says Donald from NGS. “Growers too have felt the increase in opex. Lettuce manufacturers usually own huge plots of land, and when they have issues, they move one and just stop using that part. However, right now the regional government of Murcia has limited the plantation of lettuce in the Mar Menor area. This is a little lagoon in south-eastern Spain. Too many nitrates got into the water and contaminated it. So, they made a program to give subsidies to any grower who wanted to do open field hydroponic cultivation.” Surely that might encourage some growers to go hydroponics. Antonio García, Export Manager of Hydroponic Systems indeed believes that many growers will shift to hydroponic sooner or later. “There are still lots of growers cultivating lettuce on soil in the traditional way, who will move to hydroponics in the future.” 

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Ireland

Stephen McCormack

“There is still English produce around, but I can get the produce from Holland in the same amount of time” The UK officially left the European Union on 31st January 2020, the months following were chaotic to say the least. We saw massive queues at Dover as lorries tried to get over to Europe and lots of confusion at the ports when drivers found that their paperwork was not complete, although at the time no one, including the authorities was 100% sure what the correct paperwork was, even those companies who had done the research and planned for months to make sure they got their product in or out of the UK had trouble at the customs checks.

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rior to Brexit Ireland got the majority of its fresh produce either from the UK or Europe via the UK ‘land bridge’. European goods would come in at Dover then the lorries would drive over to Holyhead and make the sailing to Dublin. Lorries drove over with complete loads of one product or a truck full of mixed pallets.

This route also saw major disruption as the UK was classed as a third country and suddenly paperwork was required. This

was challenging enough for trucks with just one product on them, but for those who had mixed loads separate paperwork was need for each product. Almost four years on Irish importers and fruit and vegetable suppliers have come to terms with the situation but they have had to make big changes in how they receive their fresh produce. They have also accept that importing fresh produce will continue to cost more than it did pre-Brexit.

“We still get produce in via the land bridge, but now goods have to be checked and have phytosanitary certs,” said Justin Leonard from Jackie Leonards & Sons from long-established fresh produce wholesale business in Dublin. “We used to order day one for day two delivery, in the months after Brexit it was day one for day five, it has now settled at day one for day three. We decided to import less from the UK. “There is still English produce around, but I can get the produce from Holland in the same amount of time, faster if you really push. This is the same for Belgian and French produce. It has proved too difficult to import English produce, I can get what I need from bigger importers. That said, it is still more expensive than before for European product as there is a customs clearance charge as it seen as coming from a third country when it goes over the land bridge. Justin said they used to see a lot of English salads, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage around but not anymore, now it is Dutch or Irish, which is good for the Irish growers, but not for the English ones.

“Before I would I would order three or four pallets of English broccoli and then sometimes add some more to make up the load. It is just bad for everyone, but more so for the UK.”

The Northern Ireland Protocol which was supposed to make trade between the UK and Ireland easier has not come into effect yet, it is supposed to come into force on 1st of October, bringing with it red and green channels with trusted traders to make imports faster and easier and reduce the need for customs checks, but that does not look likely to happen now. The various political parties have not been able to agree terms as yet.

McCormack Family Farms has been growing salad crops and herbs in County Meath, Ireland for more than 40 years. The company continues to work on extending the Irish season and will only import when it is necessary.

“We will import out of season and also if we have gaps in the supply due to issues caused weather etc.,” explains Stephen McCormack Director at McCormack Family Farms. “We cannot get supply from England to fill any small gaps as it is just not feasible since Brexit. We are sometimes stretched to the limit; Before Brexit all of our shortages were covered by UK supply, we could order day one and receive the product on day two or three. We had some contract suppliers from the UK but that has all stopped now. Before Brexit 90% of European loads came over the ‘land bridge, now it is 0%.”

Stephen is now using a lot of Dutch, Scandinavian, Italian and French supplier for shortages in the summer months.

“The delivery time is now much longer though; we order day one and receive on day four which means we have a much shorter shelflife. The transport from Europe is now more expensive, around 30% more.” The initial disruption of Brexit has calmed down now, and McCormack imports everything directly from Europe so there is no need for complicated paperwork.

“Before Brexit it was much easier to import from the UK, we could get produce next day and smaller volumes on mixed pallets. It now takes longer to come from Europe. It is a shame as we consider the UK our nearest neighbour and it must have hit the traders in the London markets hard as all Irish importers now order directly from Europe.”  justin@jackieleonards.ie stephen@mccormackfarms.ie

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Advertorial

“We want to provide an innovative concept to the industry – the most sustainable grow bag of its kind.”

Klasmann-Deilmann introduces the new Growbag ADVANCED

Good cultivation properties The combination of high pore volume and homogeneous moisture in the root zone during cultivation ensures fast and strong rooting and excellent re-wettability during irrigation from the very beginning. A low salt level, the high microbial activity and the simple pH control during cultivation help plants to develop healthy leaves and roots with less occurrence of e.g. ‘crazy roots’. Jan Vanoverschelde adds: “In terms of irrigation steering, the Growbag ADVANCED is somewhere between perlite and coir, but with a perfect drainage balance. Compared to coir slabs, the use is much more convenient as there is no need to pre-swell or rinse our bags for several days prior to cultivation.” Modern and sustainable A main aspect going along with the use of local organic materials, is the strong reduction in carbon footprint. The new grow bags, based on 100% renewable raw materials, achieve a massive reduction of CO2 emissions of -83 % compared to conventional rock wool slabs and -52 % compared to coir slabs (Calculation according ISO 14064-1, without plastic film).

Junebearer strawberries in Growbag ADVANCED in France 2023 at the end of harvest

The quest for more sustainable and even climate neutral cultivation processes in horticulture is rapidly increasing. Growing media suppliers too are pursuing sustainable options with the aim of offering modern growing solutions to support the industry in lowering its emissions. Klasmann-Deilmann, an internationally leading manufacturer of professional substrates and growing solutions, now introduces a completely new grow bag concept for fruit and vegetable production. The innovative approach of the ‘Growbag ADVANCED’ completely dispenses with the rather emission-loaded raw materials

such as peat, rock wool or perlite. As a new generation of grow bags it is based on specifically manufactured wood materials from sustainable forestry and therefore uses circular materials. The Growbag ADVANCED concept only needs a very small proportion of coir pith of 20% which helps to increase year-round availability with raw materials being locally sourced close to the place of manufacture in Germany. Strong in growth performance “Our new grow bag was initially tested in different research stations, e.g. INAGRO in Belgium, Proefcentrum Hoogstraten in the Netherlands as well as CATE and CVTMO in France,” explains Jan Vanoverschelde, product manager at Klasmann-Deilmann. “There, it has proven to be very suitable for growing cucumber, tomato, pepper and strawberry compared to bags with coir, perlite or even rock wool. The benefits reported, have been significantly more vigorous plant growth, considerably stronger rooting and faster initial plant development. The trials also showed a better resistance against drought stress and improved flowering with similar or better yield. During the last months we have rolled it out to growers all over Europe and have achieved very good crop results”, Jan reports.

In short, the Growbag ADVANCED is the first grow bag for vegetable and strawberry production based on a significant level of wood-based material. It has an innovative approach to reduce dependency on overseas sourced coir as well as to reduce emissions from the manufacturing of rock wool and perlite. Hence, it is a major step for growers and the fruit industry seeking higher sustainability in cultivation and can be a perfect new growing solution. Being an organic grow bag, it is 100% degradable on regular composting sites and can also be used to increase organic matter in agricultural land. The modern and sustainable Growbag ADVANCED is now available in different sizes and with various perforations suitable for each crop and requirement. info@klasmann-deilmann.com

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The Netherlands

Wim van de Ree, Nedato:

“PotatoNext is the next step, giving us room to breathe in the coming years”

In the Netherlands, Agrico, Leo de Kock, and Nedato recently announced they were seeking a partnership. Since then, the three companies have made known that they are transferring their table potatoes activities to a new cooperative for conventional ware potatoes: PotatoNext. That places the potato packers at the center of the potato world’s developments. Nedato director Wim van de Ree shares his vision of those developments and the new cooperation. Potatonext will start under new leadership. Wim, however, remains committed to Nedato’s French fry potato growers, where a bundling of forces is also on the cards. He says this provides market power and added value for both growers and customers. Why consolidate in this way? “I have to look back a few years to the organization’s vision. Developments in the various segments where we mainly operate: raw material for the French fries industry and - with the greatest added value - large and small packaged, fresh, unprocessed consumer potatoes inspired that vision. Those two sectors developed completely differently for several years. Some of our 400+ growers focus exclusively on growing French fries or table

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potatoes, but others grow both. Those growers are all in one cooperative.”

“Then the developments: the shrinking ware potato market and declining volumes going through packing plants. If you manage to only partially attract volume and the returns decrease, things become risky at some point. If you must start correcting, you’re too late. So, about three years ago, we decided to see if there were other companies in the packaging sector, locally and overseas, with perhaps the

same vision of future developments and how to anticipate those. Agrico, it turns out, has exactly the same vision. That business is mainly active in seed potatoes, also a growth market, but has a group of growers who cultivate fresh potatoes for the consumer market, too.”

“It has its own packing company, too: Leo de Kock. Agrico also saw that that market was shrinking and developed the same vision: if we do nothing and wait another five, ten years, we’ll be in trouble. So, in our growers’ interests - we’re both grower associations working in those growers’ interests - we considered whether a packaging companies’ merger could be realized. Then, closing one creates a very efficient, high-capacity packaging company. The investment in machinery and people can be used much more efficiently, too, and the resulting synergy benefits the growers.” “Eventually, in March 2023, that led to a collaboration agreement. Under the name PotatoNext, we’re now working to establish the new cooperative, with the goal of launching in mid-September. PotatoNext

is the push for the next international step in the potato sector: a fresh start. Nedato members who cultivate table potatoes are leaving Nedato to join PotatoNext. The same goes for Agrico’s ware potato growing members. That will result in an entirely new cooperative with its own board and single packaging company. In the next while, we’ll move from our site to what is Nedato’s packaging company. That will result in a huge packaging company capable of processing 150,000 tons of potatoes. A massive step, with plenty of synergy, especially for our growers.”

“Besides packing table potatoes, we also trade and export them. That used to be through two channels; now it’s one. That’s, therefore, more efficient, too, and creates market power and a strong position to provide raw material security along with customers. Also, we can implement clients’ wishes regarding sustainability. We control the very short chain between growers and buyers so that we can respond to all kinds of demands. That initially requires buyers to change from two to one supplier and may involve paying a bit more. However, for them, it means greater certainty that, in the future, growers will keep at it and that their needs can also be properly secured. Ultimately, your clients and you have to do it together.” Whereas French fries and processed potato product sales just keep rising, ware potato sales have been shrinking for years. What will future potato market developments be, and how can PotatoNext respond? “The North West European table potato segment is shrinking, though in the Netherlands, we have taken a step that will allow us room to breathe in the coming years and lead to efficient operations. Nonetheless, we can’t sit back because we don’t know when we’ll hit the bottom: Will the consumer market keep shrinking by four percent per annum over the next five years? That means it will be 20% smaller in five years. Our organization must, thus, go back to the drawing board: what will be our ‘next step’? We’ve not only taken that ‘next’ step; it’s also the one we undoubtedly have to take.” “Should we concentrate even more on a shrinking market? Overseas, perhaps? You might wonder if all the retailers like Albert Heijn, our biggest customers, will do so too. It would be quite interesting to see if we could take a next step with a fellow packer in Belgium or Germany. That would add even more value for growers

and buyers. It’s not a must, but it’s a possibility. Another ‘next step’ could be to market the residual streams better and let growers benefit from the returns of such a peeling company.”

“Consumer behavior around fresh potatoes is changing: how often are potatoes still served? Not very much anymore. On average, fewer potatoes are being eaten. Looking at trends in the United States and the United Kingdom - often trendsetters - we see that potatoes, with their many vitamins and minerals, are slowly becoming a healthy trend. There have been top athlete-supported media campaigns for several years. Often, such trends blow over and could be a reason to halt the

clearly growing in Northwest Europe. Sales and processing increase four to five percent per annum, which is completely the opposite of the table potato market. A market in which a not-so-large group of processors is massively active, and many growers cultivate the raw material. Nedato plays a collection role for growers, selling quite a lot of free potatoes via pool or related systems.”

“That’s what made Nedato big and is still our position. Today, our growers cultivate 200,000 tons of French fry potatoes. That’s about two percent of the volume processed in the Netherlands and Belgium. Although not huge, processors find that volume interesting. For the French

“As the market shrinks and growers seek alternatives, there will be less supply. As the acreage gets smaller because less is grown, prices will naturally start reacting. That will lead to table potato cultivation becoming balanced, making it more attractive to growers. Right now, we’re directing that by deliberately shrinking the acreage. Then, you don’t grow for a non-existent market with diluted results. We’ll keep doing that until we find the balance. And while not large, I believe a considerable segment will remain.” Where does the ware potato growers’ departure leave Nedato’s French fry potato growers? “In a cooperative of both table and French fry potato growers, you can imagine the fry potato growers looking sadly at the less profitable ware potato branch. Especially since the French fries market is very

fries potato branch, too, we’re wondering whether we can strengthen our local and overseas volume supply, thus achieving a stronger position towards buyers. But there, too, with our buyers, because everyone in the chains needs each other.”

How is the French fries potato market developing? “That’s a growth market with tremendous movement. Its borders have completely shifted, with no fixed patterns or references. The market’s becoming balanced, supply and demand-wise. The Northwest European potato acreage’s limits have been more or less reached. France and Germany can still expand, but that’s further away from the processing sites. Nevertheless, whereas the cultivation acreage remains about the same, yields are actually dropping. That’s extraordinary if you look at how other arable crops are developing. For example, sugar beets’ yield per hectare has almost doubled in the last 20 years. New varieties have hugely boosted those yields.” AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

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last spring’s potato prices.” Wim points out that those developments began in the spring of 2021, calling that a market development tipping point.

“That spring, in the middle of the pandemic, after a terrible year caused by the closure of the hospitality sector, processors started offering lower contract prices. That was at a time when growers were already feeling wrung out, margins were razor thin, and risks far too high. In the spring of 2021, growers reacted strongly and didn’t want to continue growing potatoes. When the factories realized that, contract prices rose, but it was too late. Processors mistakenly assumed growers would always sign contracts. But that predictable behavior ended in the spring of 2021; growers were tired of absorbing the risks and cultivating at far-below-cost prices. It seems at most processors, frozen French fries sales were always prioritized, and purchasing had always managed to meet the sellers’ wishes.” “In 2021, that went poorly for a while, and since then, the processing plants’ internal sales/purchasing relationships have become an increasing discussion point with ever-intense coordination. Contract prices - especially at Belgian processors - went up because of raw material availability concerns. That created competition between the Netherlands and Belgium, also because the Belgian industry grew much faster. The Dutch sector has always had much more contracted potatoes than the Belgian plants, which buy more through trade. The Dutch industry, thus, had to follow suit with higher contract prices. That led to more growers signing up for fixed prices last spring. That shows that higher contract prices were paid, which I think is a wonderful development.” “That meant there had been an understanding in the chain between the industry and growers and the later chain. When, apart from potatoes, all costs rose, the processing industry passed on those extra costs to their customers. That took some work but succeeded in the end. I consider that crucial, even for the time ahead. Now we know the market pays and that higher French fry prices mean more to distribute in the chain below. If that structure remains and prices stay sustainably higher, then with a bottom of, say, €0.25 on contract and around that for free potatoes, you can much better guarantee a sustainable income. Risks are better covered, too, which leads to a better foundation for the future.”

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“Look at a world map; you have difficulty pinpointing Northwest Europe. This region, however, is enormously competitive throughout the world. Everything’s available within a 400 km radius: cultivation, processing, the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Bremen. Transport distances are short, the infrastructure is fantastic, and there are quality, year-round potatoes. Some people wonder why, when so many French fries are exported to Asia, they don’t build more of those factories in Asia.” “In Northwestern Europe, returns and costs are still competitive enough that it’s interesting to build French fry plants here, even if we have to get potatoes from further away in Germany and France. Even so, Northwest Europe remains a permanently competitive, strong region, where building French fries factories offers a ten to 20-year return on investment. Construction is also underway in Asia, and production quality will improve. The problem is that, there, the correct quality potatoes aren’t yet available throughout the year. But that will slowly change. Still, Northwest Europe is so powerful; it can continue for quite some time.” The available acreage is under pressure from, among other things, the nitrogen measures. Does the fries industry’s growth play a role in available ware potato acreage? “Absolutely. With the shrinking table potato market, we’ve certainly made adjustments in recent years. From a management role, we cut 100 to 200 hectares yearly where table potatoes are concerned. Simply because there’s no more market. Our ranks include those who can grow French fry potatoes, which goes quite automatically and will continue. That process is reinforced because growers tend to consider things carefully. Ware potato-growing quality requirements are high, as are the premiums. But don’t meet the premium or get cut, and it’s no longer as much fun. You can get just as far by growing French fry potatoes, with fewer requirements and less risk. These are trade-offs growers are making now. It took two years to break the established patterns, and everyone’s trying to figure things out.” Potato growers face many challenges. What are the biggest ones, and where do you see solutions? “The agricultural sector has warned of the shrinking crop protection package risks for about ten years. This year, however, we’re seeing genuine problems in crops

like onions, winter wheat, and potatoes. Controlling the pests is almost impossible, which greatly affects yields. You have to look for far more wide-ranging solutions, and the risks increase. We’re facing the effects of a limited resource package.”

Wim sees opportunities for solutions in resistance breeding through genetic modification. “CRISPR-Cas, especially, will accelerate the adaptation of our current and new varieties. If that technique’s use is allowed, it would aid tremendously in supporting crop and social welfare goals. If people want less nitrogen to be used, create potato varieties that need less nitrogen. That’s possible, but that process must be sped up.”

“Another cultivation aspect is the October 1st rule: potatoes planted in sandy or loess soil must be grubbed and replaced by a catch crop on pain of a nitrogen rebate the following year. We’ll have to see how growers react. You can’t expect a rigid cut-off date, not with our climate. Then there’s the sandy areas’ upcoming 1-in-3 rest crops regulation. That should cost roughly ten percent of the acreage and corresponding income. Acreage shrinks, but yields don’t increase; then, national production slumps, with demand from the fries processing industry rising. That balances out the market. That’s why I think arable farmers’ prospects across the board aren’t that bad at all despite all kinds of bureaucratic demands.” “Another challenge is the requirements certification creates and the reward for putting in that effort. We very deliberately keep PlanetProof’s benefits as a system in addition to potato prices. With EurepGAP’s GlobalGAP’s frontrunner, we all should have kept the effort required to achieve certification separate. We met those requirements and wove that into the lump sum potato price.” “Then such a label’s effort is no longer seen. Now we say: consider those individually. The PlanetProof and Better for Nature & Farmer labels hide planning that generates more costs than an ordinary crop. The per kilo cost has been mapped out, and you must add those costs to the overall price. It must be transparent: this is the reward for those efforts. We forgot to do that with GlobalGAP, but we’ve now done so, and it works.” Planting was late this year; it was dry for a long time, and, finally, it rained quite a bit in some places. What are the

expectations for the upcoming potato crop? “The initial trial harvest’ yields were below the 2018 level, the last year with meager yields. They’re 15% below the multi-year average. But, unlike in 2018, the crops are much greener now [in July] so there’s far more chance of additional growth. There could be significantly more growth if, from early August, we get four weeks of sunny weather with 20 to 22°C temperatures and the occasional rain shower. But we can only reach 2018’s level and then also make up that 15% lower average yield if more goes right than wrong. If something goes awry, we won’t get average yields in Northwest Europe.” “Weather extremes are becoming increasingly severe, raising concerns for what the climate holds in the next while and how we can anticipate that. Meteorologists say it’s going to warm up even further in the next decade. One more degree of warming means a four-degree higher heat extreme. So more peaks and extremes are expected.” That has implications for crop choices, Wim sees. He

cites Andalusia, where a water usage quota has been set.

“They will use half their acreage for grains, which will get no water, making them low-yielding crops. They then use that water for potatoes, vegetables, and oranges. Those growers face a grim future; they don’t know how to invest. Growing conditions in southern Europe have deteriorated tremendously in ten years. As a result, cultivation is shifting northward. The Netherlands has access to relatively good fresh water. We just have to use it a little smarter.” There are generally quite a few challenges. What does Dutch potato farming’s future hold? “I believe that, politically, there will be a change in thinking, and the food supply is being discussed more. Very slowly, the question of whether we have enough food arises. That realization is gradually dawning. That’s undoubtedly going to change how land is utilized. In the short term, there could be some kind of ‘management areas’ in Europe with regulated, combined cultivation/natural areas. I

also think areas where professional agriculture can be done in its fullness will remain. As soon as there’s a hint of a risk to food security, talk about, say, nitrogen, stop.”

“Agriculture, construction, and the energy transition progress will soon require measures we desperately need. There’s slow but sure development. But how long will it be before real steps are taken? That’s the question. Everyone must eat. If developments take longer, there might be a dip, but we all need food. Should it come to feeding the Netherlands with Dutch products, we can. But then we mustn’t squander farmland. I’m generally positive about Dutch cultivation’s future, provided it doesn’t take another ten or 20 years for steps to be taken.”  wvanderee@nedato.nl

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Jurgen and Rob Banken:

“Mushroom availability will be the biggest challenge in the coming years” The pandemic and energy crisis made for turbulent years in the mushroom sector. The number of growers has declined rapidly in recent years, but Banken Champignons is still growing. With 600 employees and 11 locations in three countries, the company has been the market leader in the Netherlands for years. In this interview, Rob Banken - who, together with his brother Jurgen, represents this family business’ second generation - discusses the Dutch mushroom sector’s state and the need for automation. “The first breakthrough in harvest automation should come within a year,” he begins. How were the past few years? “They’ve been unusual. First, it was the two pandemic years, followed by the energy crisis, the tail end of which we’re still experiencing. The pandemic had a dual effect on our sector. If you supplied retail, you were okay, but the hospitality and food service sector had a tough time. We’ve always been more retail-oriented, though both sales channels are important to us. It was very challenging; we had to get more volume out in difficult conditions. Much more volume was demanded than we had acreage for. To meet that

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demand, we had to accelerate our cultivation schedules and bind growers to us.”

“Fortunately, that was reasonably successful. In 2022, the hospitality sector returned as a sales channel, but that year, we also faced cost increases. Those always precede any benefit. The cost price of our raw materials, like compost and casing soil, skyrocketed. Also, you need a lot of energy and heat to cultivate mushrooms. Add to that increased fuel prices and minimum wages that rose by more than ten percent in a short time,

and the price increase was enormous. So, 2022 was a hard year for the sector, and we had to surrender volumes. Still, we came out well.”

“It’s always difficult to announce price increases to customers, and we had to do that more than once. We choose to tell the factual story and give a good explanation of how we came to this decision. Then the importance of a chain you build together in which we, as a service provider, provide retailers with mushrooms becomes evident. If you’re transparent, you can explain such necessary price increases. Many clients appreciate that and choose long-term partnerships because we fill their programs year-round.” Were those price increases widely accepted? “In the Netherlands, high prices were realized last year, which was a good thing for the local mushroom sector. Over the past 20 years, this sector was often on the wrong side of the line. They can certainly be satisfied with the price increase

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Rob and Jurgen Banken

that has now been implemented, which also gave growers a renewed perspective. That increase was necessary, given all the investments in sustainability programs, new cultivation, and harvesting techniques.”

“That requires earning power. In our export markets, though, it’s harder to find the balance with other producing countries. Fortunately, we grow mushrooms in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland. Energy and raw materials costs don’t differ much, but Poland’s labor costs are more favorable. We have been cultivating in Western Poland for over a decade, and from there, we serve customers in Germany, Scandinavia, and France relatively quickly.” How is the Dutch grower base doing? “It’s still shrinking. Of the more than 500 mushroom farms we had in 2000, fewer than 100 remain. That’s due to growers aging too. There are some nice companies with new blood, but on balance, that number - and thus the acreage - in the Netherlands is decreasing, which has, in turn, led to decreased competition. The cake is fairly divided up between the larger parties, and everyone has their regular buyers. Before, there was often an oversupply. I expect, in the future, availability will be an issue. There are too few large, modern mushroom farms, and the number of trading parties is also declining. The Greenery, for example, stopped selling mushrooms altogether a few years ago, and very few competitor companies are entering the market. Poland shows a

similar trend. The big growers are getting bigger, and the smaller growers lack that scale.”

Does that not offer you opportunities to acquire companies? “For sure. We want our cultivation activities to grow substantially. When a company comes on the market, we engage in discussions. In this way, we’ve already acquired several nurseries in recent years, including staff and the existing contracts. Sometimes, the owner remains active, but it also happens that thanks to the take-over, they can retire. This model works well for us, but also means the buildings aren’t upgraded. We, thus, want to increasingly move towards the cultivation company of the future, incorporating the latest technology available on the market.” What is the situation regarding automated fresh mushroom harvesting? “At present, fresh mushroom harvesting is barely automated. Most of our picking staff is Eastern European, of whom we currently house about 200. Last year, we bought an entire hotel to house these people nicely. I’m firmly convinced that in ten or 20 years, we won’t need hundreds of people to harvest the mushrooms. Automation or robotization will probably largely replace that. There are many initiatives in that area; we’ve been affiliated with such an initiative for three years, and I expect the first significant breakthrough within the next year. It’s not easy harvesting mushrooms automatically,

mainly because of the uncontrolled way they grow.”

“You can’t draw a line. Picking remains the most delicate part as you don’t want to damage the product in any way, so you must harvest them very carefully. But I don’t believe it’s impossible. Many people are skeptical, but then you can be sure nothing will come of it. I’m, however, very confident. If we can harvest asparagus and strawberries robotically, we should be able to do the same with mushrooms. We now need venture capitalists who are versed in robotization. If they manage to market a robot, the world will be theirs. I very much doubt we’ll still be using migrant laborers for harvesting in 20 years.” How is the Fair Produce label faring? “We co-founded that label, which still proves to be a good move. By now, 95% of the sector complies with it, which shows companies treat their employees well and reward them fairly. Still, some growers don’t take social sustainability very seriously, and there are also clients - including large parties - who knowingly buy mushrooms from non-Fair Produce certified growers. I don’t understand that, but it still happens. That’s why this label’s still relevant. If everyone in the Netherlands complied with its conditions, I’d be the first to say we could stop it, but unfortunately, there are still growers who don’t treat the staff so well.”

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What is cooperation like in the chain? “There are things in the sector, like sustainability and promotions, that companies can far better tackle collectively than individually. Those, after all, concern the entire sector, whether you’re a raw materials supplier, grower, trading company, or part of the processing industry. That’s why, last year as the Fresh Produce Center’s Mushroom Committee chairman, I initiated a chain collaboration. We made agreements about mushrooms’ promotion campaign, which the European Union subsidizes.” “Sustainability is another topic being discussed more than before in chain context. In partnership with Blonk Sustainability, a leading division of the international Mérieux NutriSciences Company, the chain parties have joined forces to map Dutch mushrooms’ carbon footprint. That shows that Dutch mushrooms are one of the international market’s most sustainable choices. Its average carbon footprint is 1.56 kilograms of CO2 per kg of fresh market white mushrooms. That makes Dutch mushroom one of the most sustain-

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able choices and an excellent vegetable source of protein.”

How is marketing the different types of mushrooms going? “White mushrooms still enjoy the largest share, but their consumption barely rises. Chestnut mushrooms, on the other hand, are still noticeably growing in popularity throughout Europe. Exotic mushroom sales increase by a few percent annually, mainly because they are used in many fresh kits and recipes. We do many kinds of things, such as mixing, washing, slicing into all kinds of shapes, and stuffing the mushrooms. We have a complete medium care department where we process our mushrooms. In Poland, we’re one of the big organic mushroom growers. Inflation hit those sales hard in 2022. We, thus, partly switched back from organic to conventional, but organic sales are now slowly recovering.” What size is your sales market, and what are the emerging markets? “Europe is, by far, our largest sales market. You shouldn’t go much further with a

product with a limited shelf life, like fresh mushrooms. Still, there are places outside the EU, such as the Middle or even the Far East, where they grow no or not enough mushrooms. They want our mushrooms because we’re known as a qualitatively reliable supplier. But the share outside Europe is at most five percent. Within the EU, Southern European countries are the biggest growth markets.”

“Many companies have stopped exporting to the UK since Brexit, which brought in additional business for us. We send several trucks daily to the UK, which lets us use the maximum capacity per truck and keeps costs relatively low. We arrange all customs facilities in-house. In recent years, parties inside and outside the mushroom sector regularly approached us to handle their export shipments to England, so we’ve begun doing that, too.” How big are the vegan market chances for mushrooms as meat substitutes? “Recent Rabobank research shows that this development doesn’t happen by itself. Many parties dove into that market, but

not all vegan products taste right or are sustainably produced. For example, a lot of soy is often used. Consumers, thus, couldn’t see the forest for the trees and ignored meat substitutes. We’ve been working on our vegetarian and vegan product line for a long time, expanding against the trend.”

“We have a delicious line that pairs well with our fresh, processed mushrooms. We’re not the only ones who think so; independent tests prove that, which is why more retail and food service buyers are including these products. The trend is increasingly moving toward private labels. Vegan products don’t have to be expensive, but our Champilicious marketing budget is much smaller than that of Unilever or another multinational.” What does the future hold for Banken Champignons? Is succession in place? “We hope to celebrate our 70th anniversary in 2026. Our father, Henk, started experimenting with growing mushrooms at home in 1956. He laid the Banken Champignons Group’s foundation. Jur-

gen and I have been with the company for over 25 years and aren’t even nearly considering stopping. Are there successors in place? My brother and I both have children, but they aren’t yet old enough to make that decision. First, they must get

an education and gain some life experience. They might then show some interest in joining the business.”  R.Banken@bankenchampignons.com

Red Hills

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Excellent Commercial Prospects for Pomegranates: The Opinion of an Italian Producer The pomegranate is a fruit that, thanks to its antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties, as well as its high nutraceutical value, is increasingly attracting the interest of wellness and health-conscious consumers and gaining important market shares.

asseria Fruttirossi, a company based in Apulia (Southern Italy), invested in this superfruit ten years ago, and today, with more than 300 hectares of land, it is Italy’s leading pomegranate producer, known in Europe for being able to guarantee significant volumes and a long harvesting calendar, from the end of August to April.

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Masseria Fruttirossi’s estimate for the 2023/24 season is 5,800 tons of pomegranates harvested, an increase of 1,100 tons over the previous year. Expected volumes over the next 3 years will exceed 11,000 tons of fruit harvested and processed. In comparison, last year’s volume was 3,500 tons, for more than 12 million fruits. Four varieties are grown: Wonder-

ful, which is harvested from mid-October and is the company’s core business, and early pomegranate varieties such as Ako, Emek and Shany, which are harvested as early as the last week of August.

Dario De lisi, Sales Manager of Masseria Fruttirossi, says: “We have been targeting foreign markets and international players since the beginning. We now regularly sell Lome Super Fruit brand pomegranates in many European countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. We also ship to nonEU countries such as Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In these mar-

Dario De Lisi, director comercial de Masseria Fruttirossi

kets, the customers pay particular attention to the traceability of the product. We market fruit that is packaged in a facility located a few meters from the plantations; this allows the pomegranates to be processed within a few hours of harvesting, preserving all of their nutraceutical properties. The commercial prospects for this superfruit are excellent, thanks to the growing demand of a consumer who is informed and oriented towards a healthy diet. A consumer who is willing to spend provided that the traceability, quality and healthiness of the product are guaranteed and certified”.

The manager explains that the main competitors for Italian pomegranates are Spain and Turkey. At the peak of the harvest season, that is from the end of October and throughout November, there is usually a drop in prices in Italy. These fluctuations occur punctually every year, especially for less structured farms that do not have storage capacity and are forced to put large quantities of product on the market. “We have seen a 10-15% drop in prices. However, our strategy is to reduce the outflow during these weeks. We have no interest in selling when there is a surplus of supply.

The technical aspects of growing pomegranates, such as managing the canopy, irrigating and protecting the crop, are very important. “Our crops,” De Lisi continues, “are cultivated according to the most modern agronomic standards developed in Israel. The trees have a planting layout of 5.70x2/3m. The broad umbrella-like foliage is supported by wires spread between Y-shaped poles. A white plastic film is placed on the ground to refract the sun’s rays upwards, ensuring an even ripening of the fruit beneath, as well as protecting the soil from the sun and preventing water evaporation”.

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Thanks to hygroscopic probes embedded in the soil, irrigation is managed by a system that allows the right amount of water to be supplied at the most appropriate time of day, resulting in significant savings in both water and the energy required to draw water from wells. In recent years, many of the plantations have also been secured with special nets against extreme weather events such as hail, while giant mobile fan blades are used to protect the crops from frost and freezing. Masseria Fruttirossi’s packing and processing plant has about 7,000 square meters of cold storage, more than half of

which is controlled-atmosphere, where much of the harvest can be stored, guaranteeing the availability of fruit to customers for several months. This large storage capacity also prevents the company from having to market the product during the harvest period, when the abundant supply of pomegranates by other operators causes the price to drop dramatically; a phenomenon that characterizes the Italian market.

tovoltaic panels are installed on the roof of our facility with a capacity of 750 kWh, which makes the company energy self-sufficient for most of the day. We have also invested in an organic earthworm composting plant, where production waste, mainly fruit peels, is fed to earthworms that transform it into humus, a 100% natural fertilizer used instead of chemical fertilizers,” concludes De Lisi. 

“Consumers buying pomegranates are also very sensitive to the sustainability of the production, where words like eco-friendly and circular economy are becoming increasingly important. Pho-

Neremstraat 2 – B3840 Borgloon – Belgium Tel. +32 12 440 550 – E-mail: Belexport@belexport.com www.belexport.com

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New Zealand

New Zealand apple exports to Europe and UK significantly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle In February 2023 New Zealand’s apple growers in the Hawke’s Bay area of the country, felt the brunt of Cyclone Gabrielle, some growers lost the best part of the apple crop as the harvest had just begun. In the 2022 season New Zealand exported 1 million TCEs* to the UK and 1.7 million TCEs* (based on an average 18kg carton equivalent) were exported to the EU.

“C

yclone Gabrielle significantly impacted apple and pear growers, but fruit from unaffected orchards and from outside of Hawke’s Bay has been picked, packed and exported. Only the best fruit makes it to market, whether that is in New Zealand or internationally. Our New Zealand apples and pears have an assured place in international markets – they are known for their high quality, and they are in high demand,” according to Danielle Addsett, Market Access Manager at New Zealand Apples and Pears.

“For both the UK and EU markets our focus is on ensuring our fruit meets sustainability criteria and supermarket requirements, which NZ does a good job at meeting all of these, but it increases the cost of compliance significantly. We are really pleased with the new EU FTA and look forward to it being ratified. In terms of the UK FTA, there will be more fruit exported, but at this stage, it is difficult

to say if this will have an impact on the overall volumes as it may just change the shipping timeframes for exporting fruit i.e. earlier fruit may be held to export at later date.”

“Overall New Zealand export volumes to the UK are down 28%*, and to the EU down 35%* from last year. This reduction is due to the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle on harvest volumes, global market conditions affecting consumer demand, as well as higher costs in the supply chain to service those markets,” explains Simon Beck, Head of Export Sales – Apples, at T&G Global. “The European season fruit inventory carryover on varieties such as Pink Lady has resulted in the southern hemisphere fruit sales window being smaller this season. “As part of T&G’s strategy for year-round supply of our popular premium apple varieties, both JAZZ™ and Envy™ are

grown in prime apple growing regions in both the northern and southern hemispheres across the globe, this includes JAZZ being grown in the UK and Europe, and Envy being grown in Europe.”

In terms of exports of New Zealand grown varieties (both IP and non-IP), the largest volumes sold in the UK are Braeburn, JAZZ, Pink Lady, and Royal Gala. A smaller portion of sales (around 8%)* include other varieties such as Envy, Granny Smith, and Pacific Queen. In the EU the same four varieties make up the largest sales volumes – Braeburn, Royal Gala, Pink Lady, and JAZZ™. The remainder (around 14%)* is made up of other varieties such as Envy™, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Pacific Queen.

UK based Worldwide Fruit sell JAZZ™ year-round, supplied from both the northern and southern hemispheres.

“From early July until the end of October supply comes from New Zealand, and from early July until the end of September from South Africa and Chile. The British season runs from November to June,” said Steve Maxwell, CEO, Worldwide Fruit Limited. “Since Brexit here has been no direct impact on the trading relationship between the UK and New Zealand

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but it has required additional paperwork and cost to move New Zealand fruit that arrives in the EU and is sold through to the UK.”

The UK free trade deal with New Zealand came into force on 31st May this year and while Steve doesn’t expect to see much of an increase in volumes, he said that the reduction in duty for the UK this season, and the declining duty rate next year in the EU, will have a positive effect on grower returns for the volume of fruit that has traditionally arrived post duty. New Zealand’s Fern Ridge Fresh exported a slightly reduced volume of apples to Europe this year. This follows disastrous results from their European exports in 2022, this was due to many external factors combining to result in poor market conditions. “We were reluctant to ship significant volume to Europe in 2023 without some level of assurance regarding pricing, so with the guidance from our key European custom-

ers we have managed to take advantage of the more favourable market conditions this year,” explains Kurt Livingston from the company.”

Fern Ridge Fresh were also hit by cyclone Gabrielle, volumes from the Hawkes Bay area were down by 15%, but the Nelson region in the South Island ended up having a fantastic season volume and quality wise, which helped to bring up overall numbers. Most of the fruit for the European programs have come from the Nelson region this year, and the quality of these arrivals to date has been good.

“In 2023 we sent Royal Gala, Braeburn and Pink Lady to Europe. Most of these shipments were for retail programs, and a smaller volume went wholesale. The results of the wholesale sales values have been a solid improvement on the previous two years, but with our rising costs of production here in NZ, these returns still

struggle to generate a profitable price for growers.” Fern ridge have not exported any apples to the UK for a couple of year and Kurt doesn’t expect the trade deal to change demand or prices in the UK.

“We will need surety of pricing levels before shipping to the UK, as profitability is so important for our growers now, we can’t take the risk of shipping to high-cost markets without clear visibility of pricing levels. We are certainly always open to dealing with the UK, and we try maintain our relationships in the market, but it just hasn’t worked out for us the past couple seasons.”  *Source: New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc (NZAPI) statistics to Week 30 angela.hayes@tandg.global hanna@applesandpears.nz kurt@fernridgefresh.nz

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AGF Primeur • International Edition • 2023

the quality of passion

Ready for the food supply chain revolution? Chainn connects growers directly with buyers and makes the entire food supply chain transparent and open. We do this, for example, by using our InChainn app, which gives growers and buyers complete insight into the entire supply chain.

ﬁnd out more: www.chainn.nl