Afrucat, the Fruit Business Association of Catalonia, has presented the latest observations of Infolineal, the monitoring of the shelves in Spain carried out in Lleida, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid, Donosti, La Coruña, Valencia, Seville, and Tenerife.
Joan Serentill, president of Afrucat's Apple and Pear Committee, spoke about the evolution of Infolineal in recent years, highlighting its representativeness and the volume of data it collected since it started in 2015 with visits to stores in Barcelona, Lleida, Zaragoza, and Madrid.
According to Infolineal data, in 2015 more than half of the apples being sold in the stores were imported and 47% of them were of national origin. In contrast, in 2024, 61% of the apples are of national origin.
The report highlights that the price of imported apples not only continues to be higher than that of national apples but that the price difference has increased over the last 10 years, going from €0.59 to €0.92, as the national apples average price stands at €2.55/kg and the imported one at €3.47/kg.
"We have data that shows a constant import of apples since 2004, but, on the other hand, there is a significant improvement in the supply of national apples in the shelves, with brands that only offer national apples. We appreciate the approach made by retail to local production, but have to wonder where all this imported apple that continues to arrive is being sold," stated Manel Simon, CEO of Afrucat.
"There still is a lot of work to be done in traditional retail, which accounts for 30% of total sales. We are talking about the small neighborhood shops which are mainly supplied by wholesale markets, where we find a large amount of imported fruit and, above all, fruit that is not correctly identified, preventing consumers from exercising their right to be informed and to choose national produce," Simon said.
"Identifying the fruit's origin is mandatory. We need more active inspections to guarantee the consumer's right to know it", he added.
The evolution of the pears on the shelves, which have always been mostly national, has been different. In 2015, more than 50% of the pears being sold in all the stores were of national origin. In 2024, however, there are some chains in which less than 50% of the pears are of national origin, and 21% of the total number of references already correspond to imported pears.
This situation is closely related to recent years of bad weather, droughts, heat waves, and frosts, which have drastically reduced Spanish pear production favoring an increase in imports.
The price difference between national and imported pears is smaller than in the case of apples and has decreased in the last 10 years, going from €0.68 to €0.52, as the national pear's average price stands at €2.81/kg and the imported pear's average price at €3.33/kg.
Agreement with Mercosur
According to Afrucat, the Mercosur trade agreements will have a limited impact on Catalan apple and pear in the short term.
"In the short term, the agreement could be seen as an opportunity and could open the doors to export to Argentina, which has been a closed market for years. In the long term, however, the rules of the game must be clear and, most importantly, these countries comply with the mirror clauses so they don't produce apples and pears with more lax protocols than the European ones. To guarantee compliance with these clauses, we must analyze the fruit when it enters our market, ensure that the rules are respected during production, and not allow unfair competition," Simon stressed.
For more information:
Afrucat
C/ Corregidor Escofet, 64
25005 Lleida - Spain
T: +34 973 22 01 49
www.afrucat.com/ca/