According to Marek Marzec from apple export company Ewa-Bis, the issue is 'both a simple and a complicated one'.
"This whole thing came about at the beginning of the season when the prices were very low, especially for industrial apples. It is a tricky situation because many growers feel that the industry is to blame, but processors say that their hands are tied because they are also limited in what they are able to pay based on the set prices they receive for apple concentrate, which are also really low." said Marek.
Marek said that the push for the Association to plan a protest was most likely a direct response after the European Commission announced that the buy back quota would be set at 90,000 tonnes this year, a figure almost three times less than last year.
"I can only speculate as to why the European Commission has decreased the quota, but I think that it is because, unfortunately, the pork, dairy and grain industry are also struggling and the aide most be divided between the industries. I think that there is a lot of good will from the European Commission when it comes to subsidies, but unfortunately the apple growers are not the only ones who are struggling. There was also a call for the Polish government to take action, but they are in the same situation as the European Commission. Funds are limited and the apple growers are not the poorest group of farmers." shared Marek.
With export demand at the same level as to last year, Marek said that he expects the situation to stabilise at some point. He pointed out that growers need to be vigilant and make sure that they are only exporting apples of the highest standards, because a few bad traders can give other growers a bad name. A good example of this was the report last week that Swedish supermarkets returned 19,000 tonnes of apples from an unnamed Polish supplier on the grounds that the chemical levels were above what is legally allowed.
"It's almost impossible to avoid this kind of situation every so often with the mass production and export we have in Poland. Unfortunately there are few growers out there that break the rules. It's a shame because we have put so much effort into implementing IFS broker food quality standards, selecting the best suppliers, providing training and taking our apples to the lab regularly to ensure good quality. We spend a lot of money because we recognise how important the situation is." concluded Marek.
Marek Marzec
Ewa-Bis
Tel: +48 223439800
Email: m.marzec@ewabis.com.pl