Agrobiodrom, a company of producers specializing in organic fruit and vegetables, began harvesting peaches on June 8th. This year, the campaign was marked by particularly bad weather conditions, and the final blow for some growers were the hail storms of July 13th. “Until now, the peach harvest was mainly impacted by the below-average seasonal temperatures, which then turned distinctly cold, feeling more like March than May. Then, the southern wind arrived, significantly increasing the speed of fruit ripening. We also had heavy rains, around 30 to 40 mm, which fell at once on two or three occasions during the season, again affecting fruit quality. We therefore had to carry out a major sorting operation in order to preserve the best quality. Some growers were hit hard by the hail storm during the week of July 14th, losing their entire harvest,” explains Eric Kabouny, president of Agrobiodrom.
The situation has been particularly difficult for these producers, who lost an entire year in the space of just a few hours. “The situation was already bad, but this was the last drop. For the growers who are not insured, it is very complicated, especially since the hail storm fell when 80% of the crop was on the trees.”
Photo credit: Agrobiodrom
Rhone Valley: a historic production basin for stone fruit
This is just another blow for the company, which is trying to keep stone fruit production in the region. “Stone fruits are now produced more in the south of France, Spain and Italy but historically, the Rhone Valley was one of the main production areas. We are trying to make sure that there are still peach and nectarine producers in our region, by encouraging young growers to take over the orchards, but it is not easy. Even if growing this fruit is a challenge, peaches remain, in my eyes, one of the tastiest summer produce ever.”
Photo credit: Agrobiodrom
Sales prices are 0.80 to 1€ [0.90 to 1.12 USD] lower than last year
Regarding consumption, the market is unfortunately not very dynamic. “I have been observing the market of organic peaches and nectarines for over 30 years, and I have not seen prices this low for a very long time. We are selling at prices that are 0.80 to 1€ [0.90 to 1.12 USD] lower than last year. This is certainly due to the bad weather that does not encourage the consumption of this summer fruit, but also to the crisis affecting the organic sector. Generally speaking, our organic prices for most products are particularly low.”
Photo credit: Agrobiodrom
Agrobiodrom produces approximately 200 hectares of peach trees, but the company also offers a very wide range of 100% organic fruit and vegetables. This group of producers has been offering apricots, cherries, berries, lettuce, ratatouille vegetables and figs since 1990. The range has gradually expanded to include exotic fruits, which the company ripens itself.
For more information:
Eric Kabouny
Agrobiodrom
[email protected] or
[email protected]