French apricots are entering the last part of the marketing campaign in a rather favorable context. As for peaches and nectarines, the harvest is also in its final stages. The 2024 campaign was definitely an early one.
Apricots: a fairly balanced market throughout the season
The supply of the last apricots will diminish significantly over the next few days. "We are now at 85% of sales, with 3,000 tons in stock, which is relatively exceptional when you consider that we reached 10,000 tons at the same time last year," explains Raphaël Martinez, director of Peaches and Apricots of France.
The market continues to be dynamic and well-balanced, with an overall reduction of 30-40% in harvest potential, and even 80% for certain varieties such as the Bergeron. "Commercially speaking, the end of June was a bit tricky, but the situation quickly improved. Today, consumption remains strong, supported by favorable weather and better fruit quality, since it stopped raining some time ago. The demand is steady, in line with the volumes available, resulting in a balanced market. As for prices, they are currently satisfactory, but the hardest-hit growers will not be able to make up for their loss of yield." This is in stark contrast to the previous season, when there was an oversupply of fruit and prices were too low.
Peaches and nectarines: a very complicated market in July, which has improved in recent days
While the market was fairly dynamic for apricots, the peaches and nectarines suffered from oversupply linked to the peak of production, which came up against a lack of consumption. "After a somewhat difficult start to the season due to the large amount of Spanish fruit on the market, and a particularly complicated second half due to market bottlenecks, we are now entering the last third of the harvest with 30 to 40% of the volumes still to be marketed. Today, we have a combination of favorable factors: the weather, the increase in the population in Paris for the Olympic Games, but also in the holiday destinations, as well as an election period which is now behind us. We are pleased that the situation has improved, and we hope to make up for the last three weeks that have been disastrous for some producers." The last third of marketing should therefore "go well", even though we are still at the beginning of August.
Artificial intelligence to determine whether this earliness is cyclical or structural
The incredibly early start to the season raises questions. Is it due to a series of exceptional phenomena, or could it be the lasting consequences of climate change? "A few years ago, the market was active in September. This year, we will run out of fruit from the 15th of August. We had a warm autumn, which prevented the trees from going dormant, followed by a cold, wet spring, which did not help them to go from flowering to fruiting. We plan to use Artificial Intelligence to determine whether this situation is cyclical or structural."
Supermarkets: a race to the bottom at the expense of suppliers
Another striking feature of the season for apricots, peaches and nectarines are the tensed relations with certain retailers due to the economic difficulties facing French supermarkets. "The profitability of French supermarkets has clearly weakened. This is mainly due to the current economic crisis and an excess of retail space in France. Over the last 10 years, the growth of a number of chains has led to fierce competition and a loss of profitability that many people have noted. The disappearance of chains such as Casino and the takeover of others attest to these difficulties. This situation is putting pressure on suppliers to regain their margins. The arguments that are winning over consumers today are price, well ahead of quality, labels, respect for the environment and sometimes origin. We are therefore witnessing a veritable race and communication driven by the brand's price image. The difficulties we have encountered with certain chains this season are indicative of the current situation. The union representatives, with the support of FNSEA, have succeeded, not without difficulty, in preventing the Consumer Price from falling below 2 €/kg [2.2 USD/kg]. As long as supermarkets do not return to better results and a degree of serenity, suppliers will pay the price, especially when there is oversupply."
For more information:
Raphaël Martinez
PDO Peaches and Apricots of France
Phone: +33 (0)6 09 98 38 09
[email protected]