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Eurostat reports 2014 price drops for EU-grown fruit, vegetables

Eurostat logo

 

The value of fresh vegetable production has fallen 6.5% and that of fruit 10.7% in the EU this year, according to estimates from Eurostat.

This was despite production volumes rising nearly 2% and 0.4% respectively in 2014 compared to 2013, it said in a news release. For potatoes, it said prices were down 24.5% but volumes up 5.5%.

Meanwhile, the value of EU28 agricultural crop production overall is down 6% on last year, “due to a significant decrease in prices (-9.5%), partly counterbalanced by an increase in volume (+3.8%),” the EU’s statistical office said.

On the inputs side, costs have decreased in real terms – by 6.4% for fertilisers and soil improvers, and almost 4% for energy and lubricants.

Farm worker incomes down 1.7%

Over 2005–2014, real agricultural income per worker in the EU climbed 34.4%, while agricultural labour input fell by 24.6%. Compared with 2005, the per worker income has risen in 19 EU states, remained almost stable in 3, and fallen in Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Finland, Croatia and Belgium.

However, relative to last year, real agricultural income per worker slipped 1.7% this year. The biggest drops were in Finland (-22.8%), Lithuania (-19.4%), Belgium (-15.2%), Italy (-11.0%), Estonia (-10.9%) and Denmark (-10.1%), and the highest increases in Slovenia (+13.3%), Hungary (+9.1%), the Czech Republic (+7.2%) and the UK (+6.9%). Greece, Cyprus, France and Germany (only just) were the only other states to see growth this year.

The estimates are based on data supplied by national authorities in the EU28 member states, Eurostat said.

eurostat181214.png

 

Read the release here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Fresh fruit and vegetable demand in Norway

Oddmund

 

“In recent years, berries and blueberries (highbush blueberries) have seen a spectacular increase in the Norwegian market and tomatoes are no longer just tomatoes, the range has become very wide.“



“The Norwegian government’s policy is that organic fruit and vegetables should reach a market share of 15%.”



As general secretary of the Norwegian Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers, Oddmund Østebø knows Norway’s fruit and vegetable sector inside out. Relative to the rest of Europe, the country’s relatively small population – just over 5 million – has very high spending power but a low rate of fresh fruit and vegetable consumption and is highly dependent on imports.



What are some of the features of the Norwegian market?

Oddmund Østebø: The Norwegian fruit and vegetable market consists of 5 million consumers and is thus the size of the Danish and Finnish markets.

About 70% of Norway’s fruit and vegetable turnover is derived from imports – with Spain is by far the main supplier – and 30% Norwegian production. In recent years, berries and blueberries (highbush blueberries) have seen a spectacular increase in the Norwegian market and tomatoes are no longer just tomatoes, the range has become very wide.



What do you do in regard to marketing?

Generic fruit and vegetables marketing in Norway is mainly driven by the Norwegian Marketing Board for Fruit and Vegetables, whose main activity is the promotion of Norwegian produce.

But it is important to promote fruits and vegetables year-round, also in the import season of individual products. The vision for the future of marketing will be “Fruit and vegetables – naturally for all meals.” This will be achieved by increasing the knowledge of fruit and vegetables in all segments of the market.



What is happening in regard to organic and sustainable production?

Norwegian consumers consider regular mainstream products as very good. This means interest in organic fresh produce is not as high as in many other countries. However, the Norwegian government’s policy is that organic fruit and vegetables should reach a market share of 15%.

The organic products that have a certain market share of the total market are carrots and potatoes, otherwise the market share for organic products is low in Norway. There is a growing demand for certain organic products, especially staples like apples, carrot, potato, cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers. These products are relatively cheap for the consumer, and it is easier to sell organic products.



JB



This is a short version of a full page interview which can be read online here on page 13 of edition 134 of Eurofresh Distribution magazine.



 

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Inside Swedish retail giant Axfood

Daniel-Månsson_Axfood

 

Fruit and vegetable trends now and what may lie ahead



Axfood is Sweden’s third largest grocery retailer and also its leading convenience store wholesaler. Here we speak to Daniel Månsson, general manager of fruit and vegetables, about trends in Axfood’s fresh produce sales in what is one of the most affluent nations in Europe and the biggest retail market in Scandinavia.

 

What changes have you seen in your fresh produce sales?

Some years ago bananas were the biggest but now with the wide assortment of tomatoes, tomato sales have increased. Before there were just the vine tomatoes and the normal big red tomatoes, now there are 20-25 varieties in the tomato segment. On average, fruit and vegetables account for about 11–12º% of our total store turnover.



What trends do you see?

In general in Sweden, the biggest thing that is happening is organic – it’s getting really huge. This year we have an increase of about 100% and, for example for bananas, one of our supermarkets, Hemköp, has decided to stop selling conventional bananas so we have converted almost all of them now but officially next year we will do only organic bananas.

Another big trend is we are selling more premium, higher value products.

And In the last three years, the biggest increase has been in organic and berries, and cherries have also been very good.



What is happening with convenience foods in Sweden?

Convenience food is still not so strong in Sweden. I don’t think people are willing to pay for it, I think that’s the problem.

We are good in lettuce but everything else is just starting up. We have the products but we are not selling them, and it’s the same for our competitors. Part of the problem is volumes are low so the prices are high but even in categories like carrots, where prices are not that high, we sell almost nothing.

Even in ready-to-eat salads the only thing we have is the Caesar – we eat quite a lot of that in Sweden.



Five years from now what do you think will be different in your fruit and vegetable departments?

For sure there will be a big focus on social responsibility and organic products.

I also think we will have more convenience items, especially in salad and even pre-cut fruits. Also, berries will continue to grow – we have a big health trend.



What is changing and why regarding root vegetables?

What we see is more not the big root vegetables, like carrots, but mainly smaller ones like red beets, parsnips, that kind of thing, increasing quite heavily. It’s probably due to a lot of recipes and cooks on TV and also I think it’s for health and good taste reasons. The thing is you just need to know how to cook them.



What change have you made in fresh produce that you are most proud of?

I think we have done a good job in berries. We are happy because I think we are growing more than the market. Price is very important but with berries quality is even more important so we are very focused on it.

We also do a lot of in-store promotions and let people taste the berries and let everyone know they are no longer just for summer, you can now find good berries all year round.



What have you done to maximise the shelf life of berries?

We know the volumes of our clients and have been working a lot together on the turnover in our warehouse. We have a very quick turnover, the berries can’t stay long in our warehouse. And we’ve also done lot of education for the stores.



Where do you see opportunities for suppliers?

What is interesting right now is organic. I think it’s there to stay in Sweden and the increase is huge.



Tell us about your buying process

We started our own buying department in 2007. Before then we had wholesalers doing the business for us. Our supply department is not located in the company headquarters but in Helsingborg in the south of Sweden.



What are the advantages of having your own buying department?

We are always aim to be as close to the grower as possible. We don’t want to have a lot of middle hands. This way we get the right info and we believe we get fresher products. Growers and grower organisations are our main focus.

 

 

Axfood:



Store chains:

Hemköp (including Prisxtra): higher end supermarket

180 stores, 69 of them wholly owned

Willys: soft discounter & Axfood’s biggest supermarket

183 stores, of which 48 are Willys Hemma stores

Tempo/Handlar’n: 366 franchise stores



Wholesale

Dagab: 2 full-assortment warehouses, 2 cold storage warehouses

Axfood Närlivs: 3 distribution centres, 20 Snabbgross stores



Sources of Axfood’s fruit & veg (approx., vol.)

Sweden 40% (mostly veg)

Spain 20%

Holland 10%



Top vegetable sales (val)

1 tomatoes

2 lettuce

3 capsicums



Top fruit sales (val)

1 bananas

2 apples

3 berries (over whole year)



Berry sales

Up 300% in 5 years

 

JB

 

Click here to read more such articles in our latest edition, number 134

 

 

AXfood store 11b 11 8 007972 - Edited.jpg

 

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More European Commission help for states most harmed by Russian veto

euro comm

 

Amid tumbling prices, the European Commission has promised further aid for member states most affected by the Russian ban blocking imports of certain EU products.

Its additional emergency measures for perishable fruit and vegetables will run until the end of next June. However, its total spending under existing such measure and the new scheme will remain below the €165 million it initially set as the maximum expenditure.

Based on historic export volumes to Russia in the last three years, it says it will now set new eligible volumes for the withdrawn from the market of certain fruit and vegetables for 12 member states.

EU agricultural commissioner Phil Hogan acknowledged that while the current exceptional support programme – which expire on December 31 – eased pressure on fruit and vegetable growers following the Russian ban, “a downward pressure on prices persists for some products in some regions of the EU.”

In a press release, the commission said the new scheme will apply to the 12 member states “which exported most fruit and vegetables to Russia on average during the January-May period (April to May for certain fruit where the January to March period was already covered by the previous measure) during the last three years.”

Before the ban, Spain’s fruit and vegetable sector alone sold “goods worth approximately EUR 225 million to Russia,” according to Spanish member of the European Parliament Esteban González Pons (PPE).

For more information on the EU measures:  “Market support for perishable fruit & vegetable to continue in 2015”

 

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Americans eating more foreign fresh fruit

top 10 sources us fresh f&v imports

 

The value of US imports of fresh and frozen fruit reached $8.73 billion for the first ten months of this year – up 12.33% on the same period last year, recently updated USDA figures reveals.
 

But the total for vegetables – just under $7 billion – is down 0.63%.
 

Mexico and Chile remain by far the main sources of fresh or frozen fruit imports for the United States, and when it comes to vegetables it’s Mexico and Canada, the data from the USDA’s Economic Research Service shows.

 

 

Map of top 10 sources of US fresh or frozen fruit imports Jan-Oct 2014

 

 

Map of top 10 sources of US fresh or frozen vegetable imports Jan-Oct 2014
 
 
JB
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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United States a joint patent applicant for new fresh produce wash

pomegranates_being_washed

 

A new antimicrobial wash for fresh fruit and vegetables that remains potent even when recycled is the subject of an international patent application by the United States of America jointly with the company Nature Seal.

An aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide and one or more fruit acids, the wash is designed to reduce human pathogens, such as E.coli and salmonella, which are often culprits in food-borne illness.

According to the application recently published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the best results are achieved if lactic acid is included in the wash.

The application also says it is essentially free of ingredients found in earlier antimicrobial compositions, such as peroxyacetic acid, surfactants, carboxylic acid esters and other solvents in addition to water. In particular, it is free of “alcohols, both monohydric and polyhydric, as well as other oxygenated organic solvents.”

Wash water can be recycled for multiple batches of fresh produce

Furthermore, it’s claimed the wash remains highly effective in reducing microbial contamination of wash water which is recycled for reuse with multiple batches of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Typically, antimicrobial washes are applied to fresh fruits and vegetables via methods such as direct spraying, misting, fogging, curtain coating and immersion, with the antimicrobial wash reused on many subsequent batches of produce, the application says.

While washing fresh produce with water alone is normally enough to remove pathogens from produce surfaces, problems can arise if the water is reused.

“This is because the microbes removed from fruit or vegetables remain in this wash water where they rapidly increase and then contaminate the second and subsequent fruit or vegetables treated with the same wash water. So, in order for an antimicrobial wash to be effective in such processes in terms of reducing microbial contamination of multiple batches of fresh fruit or vegetables, the antimicrobial wash needs to contain enough antimicrobial agents to reduce the microbial contamination of this wash water over time,” it says.

Read the application here.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Organic pear, avocado and apple imports increasing in the US

descarga

 

US imports of certified organic pears, avocados and apples are showing triple digit growth in value for the first ten months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

And organic garlic, non-greenhouse bell peppers and blueberries have notched up double digit gains.

Organic bananas and mangoes, however, are at both values and volumes less than half those of 2013. Nevertheless, bananas, followed by apples, avocados and mangoes, lead in total value imported among those organic fresh fruits and vegetables being tracked by the USDA.

The figures come from the selected organics section of the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), which was updated this week with data to the end of October 2014.

 

Pears*: those entering US between April 1-June 30 inclusive

Avocados*: Hass avocados and others considered Hass-like, fresh or dried

Apples*: fresh, valued at more than 22 cents/kg

Bell peppers*: other than greenhouse, fresh or chilled

Mangoes*: entering US September 1–May 31, fresh

Mangoes **: entering US between June 1–August 31, fresh

 

US imports Jan-Oct 2014 for selected organic produce

Imported organic item

VALUE (in thousands of USD)

VOLUME (MT)

% Change in Value Jan-Oct 2014 vs same period 2013

% Change in Vol. Jan-Oct 2014 vs same period 2013

Bananas

97,044

168,624

-60

-66

Apples Fr >22Cents/Kg

29,396

26,180

100

68

Avocado-Hslike Fr/Dr

27,942

13,117

113

107

Mangoes Fresh 9/1-5/31

25,962

33,069

-61

-51

Mangoes Fresh 6/1-8/31

11,446

20,264

-64

-58

Bell Peppers Fr Other

9,244

3,253

58

27

Pears Fresh (April 1-June 30)

8,524

7,521

228

242

Bell Peppers Greenhse

7,355

2,771

-4

-27

Cultiv Blueberries Fr

5,975

1,322

43

75

Pears Fresh Other Time

2,926

3,026

-14

4

Garlic

2,448

1,850

95

146

 

US ORGANIC PEAR IMPORTS Jan-Oct 2014
Partner Product Value (in thousands of US$) Qty (MT) % Change Value (Jan-Oct 2014 on Jan-Oct 2013) % Change Vol. (Jan-Oct 2014 on Jan-Oct 2013)
World Total Pears Fresh Other Time 2,926 3,026.3 -14 4
Argentina Pears Fresh Other Time 2,889 2,988.7 -12 9
Chile Pears Fresh Other Time 38 37.6 -67 -72
           
World Total Pears Fresh 4/1-6/30 8,524 7,521.3 228 242
Argentina Pears Fresh 4/1-6/30 8,361 7,409.9 227 245
Chile Pears Fresh 4/1-6/30 163 111.4 342 141

 

US IMPORTS OF FRESH ORGANIC APPLES (at price >22Cents/Kg) Jan–Oct 2014
Measurement units: Val 1,000 USD, Vol 42LBC
Partner Value Qty % Change in Value on same period in 2013 % Change in Vol. on same period in 2013
World Total 29,396 1,374,204.4 100 68
Chile 18,000 848,496.4 89 61
Argentina 8,627 353,417.6 259 237
New Zealand 2,079 150,790.0 5 -1
Canada 691 21,500.3 -11 -30

US imports of fresh organic cultiv. BLUEBERRIES Jan-Oct 2014
Partner Value in ‘000 US$ Qty in tons % change in value on Jan-Oct 2013 % change in quantity on Jan-Oct 2013
WORLD TOTAL 5,975 1,321.9 43 75
Chile 4,104 1,144.4 15 58
Argentina 1,852 172.5 384 712
South Africa 19 4.9 — —

 

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US exporting more organic cherry tomatoes, grapefruit

biggest growth us exports organic

The top organic fruit and vegetable exports by the US so far this year are apples, lettuce, grapes, spinach and strawberries, according to data updated today by the USDA.

These are the products that lead in value for the ten months to this October, though the totals for apples and lettuce are down 22% and 11% respectively on the same period last year. In terms of the biggest growth relative to last year, cherry tomatoes, grapefruit, cauliflower, other tomatoes and celery are the top five items.

Organic item exported by US

Value in Thousands of US$

% Change in Value Jan-Oct 2014 compared to Jan-Oct 2013

Apples Fresh

91,856

-22

Lettuce Not Head Fr/Ch

62,564

-11

Grapes Fresh

42,831

2

Spinach Fr/Ch

31,349

14

Strawberries Fresh

27,966

11

Carrots Fr/Ch

22,470

10

Cauliflower Fr/Ch

21,681

56

Cult Blueberries Fresh

16,968

16

Pears Fresh

15,787

-7

Broccoli Fr/Ch

13,267

-2

(Fr/Ch = fresh or chilled)

 

 

US organic export

Unit of measurement

Volume Jan-Oct 2014

% Change in Vol Jan-Oct 2014 on Jan-Oct 2013

Apples Fresh

42LBC

3,656,652.90

-21

Potatoes Fr/Ch Xsd Oth

CWT

68,434.00

-29

Cauliflower Fr/Ch

MT

22,249.80

61

Lettuce Not Head Fr/Ch

MT

21,681.90

-15

Grapes Fresh

MT

19,111.30

2

Carrots Fr/Ch

MT

16,744.80

8

Onion Sets Fr/Ch

MT

14,900.30

19

Pears Fresh

MT

13,828.40

1

Celery Fr/Ch

MT

10,707.00

100

Broccoli Fr/Ch

MT

10,159.50

-9

(Fr/Ch = fresh or chilled)

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Patents sought for new IFG grapevine varieties

Screenshot 2014-12-03 at 17

Three new grapevine varieties are the subject of patent applications by International Fruit Genetics (IFG) CEO David Cain.

Based in Bakersfield, California, IFG has known exponential growth since the introduction of its first commercial table grape variety – still its main variety – the crispy red seedless Sweet Celebration. Today it has more than 20 registered varieties and its grapevines are grown in 11 different countries.

 

According to applications recently published by the US Patent and Trademark Office, IFG has applied for patents for three new black grape varieties:

 

Grapevine ‘IFG Fifteen’ is described as producing medium size, oval, completely black berries having medium firm texture and which ripen in early mid–season. While most similar to the Summer Royal variety, it differs by ripening about 1–2 weeks later, having a mild muscat flavour, smaller berries and a stronger stem, the application for this variety says.

 

Grapevine ‘IFG Sixteen‘ produces naturally large, ovate to slightly elongated ovate, black seedless berries which are medium firm in texture and ripen late in the growing season. Its fruits normally ripen mid to late September near Delano, California.

While most similar to its parent the Autumn Royal variety, its differences are said to include having a broader cluster shape, a much smaller residual seed trace, slightly softer flesh, no tendency to develop an astringent flavour, higher yields, better tolerance of rain during the ripening season, and more flexible and less brittle canes, thus reducing damage during pruning and other operations.

 

Grapevine ‘IFG Seventeen‘ produces naturally large, narrow elliptic, black seedless berries which are firm in texture and ripen late in the growing season.

Most similar to its parent the Autumn Royal variety, this new variety also differs by having a much smaller residual seed trace, no tendency to develop an astringent flavour and by its higher, more consistent yields.

It is also said to have better tolerance of rain during the ripening season, more flexible and less brittle canes, and berries that are smaller than the Autumn Royal variety but colour more easily.

 

Since 2001, IFG  has grown more than 75,000 grape seedlings. Every variety is tested for 3–7 years before release.

On its website, IFG says it is designing new varieties to fit the “niches” in the table grape industry, referring to coming ones as: “Exotic black grapes with Muscat flavors; crisp white grapes that burst like sweet liquid sunshine in your mouth; highly productive seedless grapes that are easier and less labor-intensive to produce.”