The largest German organic retailer, Dennree, has again lowered the sales price for new potatoes from the desert state of Egypt, this time by by 13 cents per kilo, thus increasing the price gap to domestic goods to 28 percent. Last week, the Working Community on Agricultural Agriculture (AbL) already pointed to what they see as too low prices for these imported goods.
That Dennree reduces the prices for new potatoes from Egypt regardless, is criticized sharply by the AbL: "This is a price policy at the expense of domestic organic potato farmers and their Egyptian colleagues as well. Obviously, market leader Dennree does not want to take its responsibility for fair incomes for the farmers," commented 
Phillip Brändle from the AbL board. He went on to say: "How prices like these should work out for everyone in the value chain, Dennree has not explained in its previous statements. What I myself, an organic farmer, expect from the entire organic movement, is clearly a different way of doing things."
Mutual signals
Last week the AbL already complained that Dennree in its Berlin branches was offering Egyptian new potatoes for €1.79 per kilo (now €1.66 / kg), which is considerably cheaper than regional products of the 2018 harvest at €2.29 / kg). Dennree has publicly stated that the domestic potato for them has "top priority". As far as the AbL goes, however, in reality the retail chain sends out the opposite signal: "The retail chain signals to organic customers that it is cheaper to cultivate organic potatoes in Egypt and transport them about 2,900 kilometers from there to Germany than to go for the potatoes from regional producers close-by. This is harmful, fatal signal both to the local farmers and Dennree's own customers. Sustainability in economic, social and environmental terms looks different," says Brändle.
For more information:
Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft e.V.
Bahnhofstraße 31 
59065 Hamm
Telephone: 02381-90-53-172
Telefax: 02381-49-22-88
Email: info@abl-ev.de
www.abl-ev.de