After a perfect start (no carry-over of old crop stocks, no Southern Hemisphere stocks, and much better price levels than in 2022-23), how did the apple campaign unfold? With the new season just around the corner, François Mestre, head of Mesfruits (based in Cavaillon), draws up an initial summary and draws up an outline for the next campaign, with a focus on the South-East basin.
"We need at least the same prices as last year"
Sales prices have been rather high throughout the campaign. "In the end, it's a fair return given the sharp increase of our production costs. This year, we need to do at least the same". In terms of consumption, although the rainy spring and summer did little to benefit summer fruit (and vegetables), apples on the other hand enjoyed good demand. "We had a remarkable rate of destocking, particularly in May. Now we're coming to the end of the season, with a clean bicolour market and some remaining stocks of Golden apples". The reason is that Golden suffers from less dynamic sales than its counterparts but above all from a "lack of price elasticity". Why? Because this apple has been marketed so much in bags at promotional prices (one-off prices) making it harder to increase prices in this segmentation".
Does the Golden apple suffer from the "dogma of excess quality"?
Another problem for Golden, according to François, is the "dogma of excess quality". In his view, the proliferation of PDO and PGI-type schemes is ultimately harmful to an apple that is usually "very easy to produce. Specifications that are too specific (altitude, size, etc.), which were originally intended to differentiate it from other apples, ultimately lead to technical pitfalls (which are bound to multiply with climate change, phyto reduction, and water scarcity). These pitfalls are synonymous with yield losses, forcing us to compensate with high sales prices (€4 to 5 in stores), slowing down consumption. In the end, some growers are forced to uproot their Golden orchards for lack of remunerative prices".
South-east: prospects for a good harvest
The wetter spring and the hot weather that has just begun will certainly benefit fruit development. "Nature has been rather generous this year, and we expect a very good harvest in our basin. No scab or aphid problems to report, despite the rain. Volumes and quality are up to scratch (the Pink Lady harvest from young orchards should have been larger this year, but will end up being identical due to physiological setbacks). The Gala and Elstar varieties, which will be harvested in a few weeks, are already showing very good color. This promises to be a good year, all the more so as this year's crop is likely to "start on an empty market".
For more information:
Mesfruits
8258 chemin des châteaux les Vignères
84300 Cavaillon
Tel: +33 04 90 71 28 36