“The organic apple sector in Europe is faced with a particularly delicate economic situation, which has led the Italian and French economic organizations to reflect together on the future.
With 193,000 and 227,000 tons respectively, Italy and France are the two largest producers of organic apples in the European Union, representing 64% of the 658,000 tons produced in Europe.
Thanks to the European and national public policies, conversions have been very dynamic. In France, the organic apple orchards have gone from 5,523 ha in 2019 to 9,090ha in 2022, and in Italy, they have also increased from 6,201 to 8,236 ha between 2017 and 2021.
But due to the succession of sanitary, geopolitical and economic crises, consumption does not keep up with production. Economically, when supply largely exceeds demand, there is a structural surplus, and this is exactly what the organic apple production is currently experiencing.
Additionally, the inflation of the means of production has been further degrading the economic viability of organic orchards.
The great organization of the French and Italian fruit systems helps mitigate these effects for the time being but in the future, it will be necessary to review the policies to encourage organic apple orchards and to further encourage actions to support consumption.
These observations were shared on March 14th during a meeting held at the headquarters of Centro Serivizi Ortofrutticoli Italy (CSO) between representatives of Assomela, CSO and the National Association of Apple and Pear Producers of France (ANPP). The first exchanges of views and data have helped set common objectives and actions to give positive perspectives to organic apple producers and to raise awareness among stakeholders. It was thus decided to create a Franco-Italian group that will:
- Monitor the monthly production, stock and sales data, and share market trends with transparency. Assomela, CSO Italy and ANPP will continue to monitor their respective markets in order to put forward hypotheses on the future scenario for the sector and to consider possible intervention tools, including proposals for changes in public policies.
- Initiate and consolidate a dialogue with the world of mass distribution in order to reserve the right place on the shelves for organic products.
- Define objectives and collective actions to increase consumption and create an ‘organic culture’ through the exchange of knowledge, promotional actions, as well as innovation and training projects.
Public policies should not ignore the reality of the market. Given the current situation faced by the organic apple sector, it is as urgent to regain consumer confidence as it is to change the unrealistic objectives of the European Commission's Farm to Fork. Italy and France will be united on this issue.”