Afrucat presented an analysis on the market share of domestic apples and pears compared to imported fruit at major Spanish retailers last December in Lleida, Zaragoza, Barcelona and Madrid.
The data analysis showed that 38% of apples and 5% of pears sold by Spain's largest retailers are imported, although different chains, and even different stores belonging to the same chain, show strategic differences depending on where they are located.
In the case of apples, there are 7 supermarkets where about 90% of the apples on their shelves are of Spanish origin, 4 of which reach up to 100%, namely Bon Área, Bon Preu, Caprabo, Plusfresc, Dia, Esclat and Lidl.
In the case of pears, there are 11 supermarkets where about 90% of the fruit is of Spanish origin, 7 which reach 100%, namely Bon Área, Bon Preu, Caprabo, Eroski, Esclat, Plusfresc, Supercor, Carrefour, Hipercor, El Corte Inglés and Dia.
The analysis also found that certain chains have differentiated strategies for their stores depending on their geographic location. There is a greater focus on domestic fruit in the stores located at or nearby production areas. In general, chains located in Lleida have more domestic pears and apples (80%), followed by Barcelona and Zaragoza with similar levels (60%) and lastly Madrid, where domestic fruit accounts just for 50% of the total.
Given the figures collected by Afrucat since 2011, it is safe to say that the trend in recent years is for the presence of apples and pears of Spanish origin to increase.
Fruit sector demands support for domestic production
The data were presented with the presence of representatives of FCAC, UP and ASAJA.
Afrucat and the other organisations represented have agreed to ask consumers to demand domestic fruit at the points of sale, and to choose retailers that support local produce. They have also made a call to all retailer chains to support Spanish products.
Afrucat stressed that this is a crucial moment for fruit producers, with a good and highly competitive production suffering the impact of the Russian veto, which entails slower sales (especially for apples); "it is a time to promote our products, as they do in the rest of Europe."
In view of these data, collected at a time of the year when imports are often not very high, Afrucat has decided to conduct the study again every three months and monitor how the situation evolves.