Negotiation with retail
The sector fears far-reaching negative effects of the minimum wage on the growers of gherkins. A huge decrease of special cultures and losses for the growers and maybe the relocation of production abroad could be a consequence. GEO Bayern assigns duties to the food retail: “We want to start with the negotiation with the food retail as soon as possible. It can happen tomorrow but it can take also two weeks.”
Domestic products or import
The import of gherkins is hanging like a curtain of fear above the German growers of gherkins. Hofmeister explains: “The retail is debating if they will buy their gherkins from us or if they will import them from foreign producers.” GEO Bayern depends on their negotiation partners: “Now they invite offers from all over the world. The markets are being explored and they look at where the gherkins are grown and how the prices are. In our situation this is the “big question mark”. We don’t know where we are heading. But one is for sure – German quality with all our standards is worth its price.”
Labelling as a solution
A possible solution for the German products could be a labelling requirement for raw materials. Through a protected geographical indication the consumer would be able to see where the gherkins are originated. The sector hopes that local products will achieve a higher price compared with the less expensive imported products. “We try to imply the labelling. But like all political issues it takes a while”, Hofmeister reports, “Of course a lot depends on the political support you have. Currently we think we don’t have the political support we actually need for our situation. But this can change very quick. For our negotiations we need the same basic approach. However, we still need to achieve this situation.”
Josef Hofmeister
GEO Bayern - Gurken Erzeugerorganisation Bayern GmbH
Obere Römerstraße 17, 94527 Aholming
Tel: +49 (0)99 38/9 19 37-14
jh@geobayern.de
www.geobayern.de