The decision of UK multiples to carry on offering poor quality UK Gala and Braeburn into March this season rather than better eating French fruit will lead to a decline in quality across Europe, Sylvain Brard export manager at Blue Whale has warned.
“This political decision to carry on selling English fruit well into March even though the quality is not good means French growers will start to reorganise their orchards grafting Fuji onto trees for example, rather than the clones of Braeburn preferred by the UK market they have invested in,” said Brard. “So when the UK wakes up and realises in a few years it wants French apples again, it will be too late. What is happening now with Granny Smith - a lack of availability and strong pricing - will happen with the small sizes of Gala and the Braeburn clones preferred by the UK market.”
Brard said growers in France are fed up with meeting the exacting standards of the UK over the years and investing in its preferred varieties for which they no longer receive a premium. And the multiples’ love-affair this season with UK fruit despite dwindling sales could prove the straw that breaks the camel’s back. “The supermarkets need to take a good long think and consider that we are not salad growers that can just switch like that,” said Brard, “it takes five years for a tree to produce fruit.”
Happily for the French, strong markets in Asia and the Middle East are boosting their fortunes this year, as is a good performance from the Russian market. “The frosts in March last year wiped out about half of the Polish, Hungarian and Czech crops so the Russian market has been amazingly strong,” said Ray Treacy of exporter Treacy Boutonnet. Demand has also been strong in Spain and Portugal and Treacy reports a good showing from the UK wholesale markets. “They are leaving all the other options to one side and choosing French,” he said.
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