It has been a busy 12 months for the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) with some significant strides forward.
The group helped play a key role in the delay of the new regulations on EU marketing standards, with WAPA’s submissions on the issue being described as fundamental in the decision to delay the reduction of minimum apple sizes on the EU market.
At the time, the body stated: “There needs to be at least three years historical data of maturity parameters in each region/sub region before being able to properly determine the appropriate maturity point for harvest.”
Dr Tom Lyall, from WAPA’s secretariat, said: “We issued a position paper following our AGM in Berlin, advancing the fact that all our members were happy with a three-year delay. The European Commission has said that the WAPA paper was fundamental in getting that delay because it showed there was global agreement among all producers on a need for further research.”
A result of this process, he says, the group, which was founded in 2001, is now seen as the ideal forum to discuss such globally important issues.
The challenge is now on for the industry to take advantage of that three year period, says Lyall, pictured. “We need to take a pro-active approach and make sure that time is used constructively.” Discussions are ongoing within Codex to agree a global standard and the producers in various countries will be urged to lobby their governments to ensure the industry’s views are represented in the political decision-making process.
But the process is not going to be an easy one. The concept of marketing standards is a subject that has divided the industry into two camps, with New Zealand, Australia and the US insisting there is no need for a minimum standard while others - the EU, India, Thailand and Argentina - say there is. The naysayers claim the introduction of marketing standards could simply act as a barrier to trade.
Lyall says: “New Zealand doesn’t like the philosophical concept of more market regulation which they believe could negatively impact other key markets, which currently have less regulation, including lower minimum sizes.
“The agreement needs to be eventually sought at the Codex level, as it is from there that subsequent work at EU and UNECE levels will be dictated. WAPA will continue to facilitate a compromise among producers in our forum and transmit any positions to government officials representing the relevant countries.”
The apple market remains highly competitive and Lyall says there is a vital need for an organisation like WAPA, to be able to meet the increasing need for global communication. “The industry must work through WAPA to get its views across.”
To aid that communication, a website has been launched, www.wapa-association.org, responding to the group’s members’ calls for an online information exchange forum.
The site is seen as a key tool to bring together information for the benefit of association members and the wider community.
Launched in April, the site is designed to be easy to navigate and flexible, allowing WAPA to add and enhance it simply and effectively. A press room has been introduced to allow the media to stay up-to-date with the association’s activities and industry developments.
A section of the site is dedicated to advances in medical science, aiming to reinforce the link between health and eating apples and pears.
Philippe Binard, general delegate of WAPA, says: “For a long time we have seen these intrinsic health benefits as a key to the promotion of apples and pears. Our members now have access to a wealth of scientifically-proven information in a one-stop site.”
A member’s only section also allows WAPA to disseminate important statistical information to its membership.
Promotion is something the association has been making important strides on, particularly focusing on ways to increase world consumption of apples and pears.
Lyall says: “We’ve been taking a look at the different ways member countries have been promoting fruit, and whether there are any ways we can share that information with our members - for example Brazil had a campaign where they switched a packet of cigarettes for an apple.
“There’s no point us just creating a new initiative, it makes sense to have a look first and see what already exists.”
WAPA is now working to facilitate the exchange of information on marketing initiatives between its members. Lyall says there has already been some take-up of other countries ideas, with France looking at the Brazilian model.
The association is still in the process of collating ideas, but is considering the possibility of organising something like a global apple and pear day, Lyall adds.
While all the nutritional and health information regarding the fruit will be going up onto the website, he says it is important that apples and pears are also promoted as being tasty as well.
With the top-fruit industry now a global business, transport is a vital part of the process and that is something WAPA is looking into, to ensure quality standards are maintained through the international supply chain.
“For countries such as New Zealand, the biggest cost is transport and therefore we have to make sure it is effective,” says Lyall. “Our work on transport stems from the fundamental existence of WAPA. It is a principal goal to increase consumption through providing a better quality product to the consumer.”
While WAPA, in conjunction with its members has carried out work on organoleptic standards, it has also been looking at other areas which might impact on fruit quality.
Lyall says: “Research recently carried out in South Africa has suggested that poor transport conditions in containers can be responsible for reductions in fruit quality during shipping.
“This problem is exaggerated for long distance transit (southern to northern hemisphere) but also for EU exports. The research suggests that the single biggest problem is poor airflow, and thus excessive heating of the fruit during transit.”
He says WAPA is continuing to collate studies on the problems and is attempting to address the issue with shippers through collective lobbying.
Overall, the association has achieved a great deal in its short life-time, but its work is, as yet, far from done.
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