According to François Mestre from the French company Mesfruits®, things are going well on the apple market. "There is a lack of apples, which supports prices. In addition, there is a very good return of production.” The new harvest will arrive in August, and Mesfruits® still has enough apples in stock.
François (left) and his brother Jacques in the orchards
Currently, Mesfruits® is making a great move by going organic. "We planted 30 hectares all at once and will keep going on with the same quantities. The organic production allows us to satisfy the consumer, as well as to guarantee a fair price to the producers, because there is a very big demand in organic. Organic apples are complicated to produce, but the southeast of France is a nearly ideal region; Due to the weather conditions and the wind, it is less humid than other regions, and there is much less pressure in our production area. On the other hand, it’s more difficult to get proper colour on them, but the product does arrive earlier. Thanks to this shorter, technical route there are fewer constraints."
Mesfruits® offers many different apple varieties like Pink Lady®, Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Braeburn and Golden Delicious and more. “In addition, we are developing new varieties like Story®, Joya® and Kissabel®.” Also the company has a monopoly on the Crimson Snow® in France. "Our range is classic; the same varieties are replanted, and varietal renewals are introduced to obtain apples which contain more colour and have a sweeter taste.” Mesfruits® is expanding towards the rest of Europe; especially in England and Germany, where club varieties are very popular. 75 000 tons of Apples and Pears will be distributed in Europe in 2018.
The Kissabel variety
The Crimson Snow Group in Berlin
The small apples that come from the orchards of Mesfruits® are mostly intended for children. "For example, if nature gives us small Pink Lady®, we market them as “Pinkids®”. This is a sweet apple of high quality, and it works very well here. We must educate children, because they are the consumers of the future."
René Mestre, the father of Jacques and François during the Pink Lady day at Mesfruits
Competition from other countries is strong. "The Polish competition is particularly hard for French producers. Competitors in the southern hemisphere compete, but do not compete head-on; they have other markets and high costs, because they are in the dollar zone. As a result, they sell at a much higher price than we do."
It is remarkable that compared to apples, France only produces few pears. The volumes are not increasing, because currently, many producers are disengaging from the pear. According to François it’s a very good fruit, but there are many constraints: "Firstly, pears aren’t quite trending. Secondly, they only consist of traditional varieties; varieties which only have a small yield, and are very expensive in labour.
In France, it's hard to regulate the market. We have pears barely six months a year: during these months, the market is constantly saturated due to producers wanting to sell their products very quickly. The packaging is expensive, and the pear has a short shelf life.
In the next ten years, the situation will not change: pear producers are still first-generation producers. They have orchards that date back to the 70s or 80s, and those are often rather small, and very fragmented areas. simply put; they’re not industrial orchards.
Here in the southeast, a lot of pears will become organic. François: “Our pears are 100% organic and this secures the outlet.”
The office
For more information:
Mesfruits
+33 490 712 836