French producers are in the fortunate position this year of being able to boast a significant rise in volumes. At the annual Prognosfruit conference in Denmark, in August, French yields were projected at 1.8m tonnes - a four per cent rise on last year.
But do these volumes represent the right apples for today’s consumers? According to Jacques Vanoye, president of the French Apple Marketing Commission, the increase in yields has not been distributed evenly across the country’s varietal selection, with distinct changes in preferences increasingly influencing the state of the landscape.
Vanoye says Braeburn and Gala are two varieties showing considerable increases. Volumes of Braeburn are up by around 14 per cent, while Gala is eight or nine per cent higher this year, putting it second only to Golden Delicious. “Gala started as a significant crop 15 years ago and it is now the second variety in France, having worked its way up step-by-step from fourth place,” he says.
In the UK, the allegiance to Golden Delicious is waning, on the back of a surge in popularity of the stronger-tasting and crunchier bi-coloured varieties. And despite a resistant loyalty to the old favourite throughout the rest of Europe, French producers are increasingly breaking with tradition. “Volumes of Golden Delicious will probably be about the same this year as last year, although that is still more than double the amount of Gala. Volumes are stable - it used to be around one million tonnes but now it is about 600,000t out of a total of 1.7-1.8mt of apples,” Vanoye says.
The geographical distribution of Golden Delicious plantings has slowly changed. “We’ve had a lot of grubbing of older orchards of Golden Delicious in the mountains in order to get a better quality of apple,” says Vanoye. “ When France’s production was largely Golden Delicious there was considerable variation in quality but now that has changed.”
Sylvain Brard, export managing director of the Blue Whale Group, says it has been growing more Golden Delicious in the Alps, which benefits from the most conducive weather conditions, while its south-westerly plantations are being increasingly devoted to bi-coloured varieties. “Fifteen years ago, 75 per cent of our production was Golden Delicious, now it’s something like 15 per cent.” He says this redistribution has been fundamental in maintaining the company’s strength in the marketplace and Blue Whale has been actively working to develop its marketable portfolio.
Following the world-wide trend, Brard says red types have been virtually wiped out of the company’s orchards, with less than 10 per cent left to phase out, while all attention is focused on the newer two-coloured favourites. “At the moment, we are investing in developing a clone for Braeburn to get a better colouration,” he says. “Our objective is to improve the standard clones gradually over the next couple of years. We have already done it with Gala, moving from Royal Gala to Mondial, so the offer is the top we can possibly get - a much better presentation of fruit. Now we are doing the same for Braeburn.”
Vanoye is all in favour of exploring new varieties, although it is a delicate business, requiring considerable and detailed evaluation of global issues, he says. “If we plant new varieties we must look at what is happening in the rest of the world. You have to know whether you want it to be a niche variety in small quantities, or a new variety for the French market or some other country.” The US is particularly influential, he says. “We are one of the few places planting Jazz and Cameo, but the US have a lot so it’s coming on the market.”
Marketing a new variety is an expensive business, Vanoye continues. “Pink Lady has seen great success but it costs a lot of money. It is now somewhere between a niche and a commodity. In France volumes of Pink Lady are up by around 18 per cent to 65,000t this year. Cameo is growing and we would like to see it do well. The forecast for next season is just a little less than 7,000t.”
However, Vanoye accepts that some varieties will always be niche products. “The volumes for Cameo are still small but they are increasing. The target is not to have anything like 4mt, but it depends on demand. It is too early to tell with Cameo.” The same is true of other emerging varieties, he says. “Tentation is another good variety, with a good flavour and a good crunchy texture. I think it could have a good market but it takes time.”
Vanoye suggests Tentation will never be a mainstream variety but it has already overtaken Cameo, with 8,000t in production. “It has a good appearance but with any new variety you have to spend five years looking at different weather conditions, and doing trials at retail level to see how consumers will accept it.”
Brard divulges that Sundowner is the latest addition to Blue Whale’s books. “We have just started to grow a little bit and Blue Whale is already listed as a marketing agent for the brand.” Ariane is another variety being championed by the group: “Ariane is a very good scab-resistant variety we are going to push. Volumes have grown since last year and Blue Whale is now producing half of France’s 2,000t exports of the variety.”
While Brard is keen to see these new varieties succeed, he does not believe the market is short of apple types and a top priority for producers should be in improving existing varieties, rather than endlessly introducing new ones. “You won’t increase consumption just by putting more apples on the market,” he says. “You need to ensure top quality and the cosmetic appearance of the fruit. There are still a lot of older clones grown in France which affects the general price of apples.”
Vanoye, on the other hand, believes there will always be a market for each new variety, given the diversity of preferences within each corner of the globe. “In the Far East, for example, they like sweet fruit so it would be impossible to sell them a Granny Smith. Even in France there are different preferences in the north and the south so you always need several varieties to cater for all different tastes.” In addition, in order to recruit new consumers among today’s young people, you have to make apples modern and trendy and promote their uniqueness, just like any other innovative product, he suggests.
According to Vanoye, compared with 10 years ago, in terms of entering the UK market, most producers agree France is feeling the pressure of competition within Europe. While the new European members are not an immediate threat they should not be ignored since their systems of production will likely improve within a relatively short space of time, he says.
Bobby Barton, of Loire Exports, agrees there is currently little cause for alarm owing to the outdated varieties still being produced in these countries: “Are Poland and Hungary real competitors to France? Realistically, the French don’t believe so for the moment. While they have made progress, their main varieties don’t seem adapted to the high demands of the UK customer. Most of the Polish and Hungarian varieties are Starking, Idared, Gala Must etc, that were grubbed years ago in France.” However, the global market is a fickle place which can never fully be relied on, he says.
“Although today they may not be an extreme cause for concern, they could be tomorrow.”
At the same time, the new accession countries could prove beneficial in terms of export sales, from France, according to Brard. “The Russian market is developing very quickly. We are already working with all the major supermarkets. Five or six years ago there were no supermarkets but the standard of living is going up fast.”
According to Vanoye, given the size of its population, China could be a potential contender for exports. However, while Europe is receiving increasing volumes of Chinese apples, getting products into the vast country is proving difficult owing to its stringent phytosanitary regulations. Nevertheless, he is determined to see this issue challenged in Brussels before long. And in the meantime, he suggests there are numerous countries between France and the Far East which are not even close to reaching their optimum consumption levels and whose potential French producers would do well to explore.
