The press tour organised by the VOG Consortium on 24th and 25th August to celebrate its 70th anniversary was the perfect occasion to talk about the campaign and consider future trade opportunities.
Georg Kössler and Gerhard Dichgans, president and director of VOG respectively.
"We are halfway through the harvesting of Gala. Summer was hot and dry and fruit ripened quickly. The weather seems to have changed since mid-August with storms and cooler nights and expectations will be met for other varieties as well," explains director Gerhard Dichgans.
"A 6% drop in production was announced during the 39th edition of Prognosfruit. We are experiencing a 12-13% drop and we are satisfied with the grades in general. Volumes will not be the same as 2014, but the start of the season started very well - there was no produce on the market and demand for Gala was good."
For what concerns development opportunities in the next five to ten years, president Georg Kössler stressed the constant drop in European consumption. Dichgans added that "in the next ten years, Europe will offer less trading opportunities, though there will be varietal innovation to replace the apples most affected by the drop in consumption. To increase consumption, we must look beyond Europe."
VOG's director then talked about the history of the exports. "In 1945, we were working with North Tyrol, then we focused on other member states starting from the 1970s-1980s. When the Cold Ward ended, we thought Easter Europe was our future and discovered they were faster apple producers than we thought. In the future, two macro-areas will grow in terms of population and consumption - Africa and South-East Asia."
"In Africa, there are at least five or six countries with hundreds of millions of inhabitants, so they can afford to import apples. We have worked with Maghreb in the past five years and need to broaden our horizons because there is huge potential."
Both Africa and South-East Asia need specific apple varieties that meet consumer preferences. Asia for examples likes crunchy, sweet and juicy apples.
Author: Maria Luigia Brusco
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