French fruit growing is confronted with rising minimum wage costs as well, for example in the case of strawberry cultivation. At this year's Strawberry Day, Jean-Thierry Velten, a fruit producer in Alsace, provided insights into the current situation in French fruit growing.
Minimum wages have been rising since the 1950s, Velten told us. Today, the minimum wage in France is 11.07 euros/hr. "Taking into account secondary costs, such as health insurance, overtime, vacation pay, etc., each individual harvester costs the farm about 14-15 euros/hr, of which the worker is then left with 9.40 euros/hr," Velten calculates.
The Velten couple markets 70-80 percent of its strawberries, raspberries and apples through cooperatives. The remaining part is allotted to the direct marketing.
Ubiquitous cost increases
Currently, strawberries are cultivated on about 3,500 hectares in France (2,000 hectares under greenhouse cultivation, 1,500 hectares in the open). The annual harvest typically varies between 60,000-70,000 tons, said Velten, who produces pome, berry and stone fruit on about 17 ha and markets part of his yield through OGM Mittelbaden.
"In addition to minimum wage costs, several factors, most notably the shortage of harvesters, the distance of the active ingredient, climate change, packaging costs, and declining consumer purchasing power, are causing us problems," Velten continues.
Fresh strawberries from Alsace
Automation and extension of the range
In view of rising costs, the company has set itself the goal of making strawberry production more efficient. Velten: "Mechanization is a priority. Among other things, we rely on mechanical weed control and automation in planting and harvesting. The same applies to pruning in apple production, where we have been able to reduce the amount of work by half thanks to mechanization. Other measures we have been able to implement include a water treatment plant and a new type of hail protection system."
Furthermore, the product range is gradually being expanded: "We are dedicated to producing new crops, such as raspberries. On the one hand, this enables us to reuse the strawberry tunnels, some of which would otherwise be empty, and to keep our harvesters busy for longer, which - hopefully - will have a positive effect on farm loyalty in the longer term."
Images: La Ferme des Pommiers
For more information:
Jean-Thierry Velten
La Ferme des Pommiers
9 route de Strasbourg
67370 Schnersheim
Tel.: 03 88 69 85 23
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