French apricots are currently going through a difficult period, due to a number of factors that have gradually driven prices down to levels unacceptable to producers. “The situation is partly due to the general economic context and the drop in purchasing power,” explains Raphaël Martinez, director of Peaches and Apricots of France. “This economic context amplifies the difficulties that certain products usually experience at pivotal periods. With the drop in purchasing power, distributors are particularly keen to run promotional actions on fruit such as apricots.”
Larger volumes than expected
Regarding production, the high apricot volumes in recent weeks are another factor that further complicates the current economic situation. “The end of June/beginning of July always corresponds to the production peak for the apricot campaign. This year, we thought that last month's hail would give us manageable supply, but the weeks of rain and humidity in May and June have actually boosted production. As a result, our volumes are higher than we had expected.”
Export share lower than last year
A third factor that is putting the sector in difficulty is that exports are hindered by the Spanish and Italian supplies. “Of course, our exports are not what they were 20 years ago. But last year, we still reached 15% of exported volumes. This year, however, this share is declining due to the competition from Spain and Italy. Our volumes therefore remain on the French market, which is unable to absorb them, and this had a significant impact on prices last week.”
8 French retailers have come together to support the sector
In order to get the sector out of the crisis, Peaches and Apricots of France has decided to propose a partnership with 8 French retailers with a triple objective:
To promote the sale of French apricots in as many outlets as possible.
To satisfy consumers by offering them quality fruit at affordable prices.
To block the downward price spiral in order to respect producers and their production costs.
A total of 8 retailers responded positively: Aldi, Auchan, Casino, Carrefour, Cora, Intermarché, Leclerc and Lidl. Throughout the week, they will be offering large volumes of French fruit at attractive prices, as agreed with their suppliers. The action should help to relieve the congested market and get the 3rd and final part of the season off to a healthy start (Bergeron and other “late” varieties).
“With this partnership, hope returned at the beginning of the week. The quality of the fruit, which was rather uncertain during the first part of the season, is now much better thanks to the fine weather that has returned over the last three weeks. We are now waiting for the supermarkets to honor their commitment and we are quite positive, given the relations we have been maintaining with them for some time now, reinforced by the celebration of the association's 15th anniversary in April.”
Sustained communication to boost consumption
This operation will be widely covered in the French media, aimed at professionals as well as the general public, in order to ensure maximum effectiveness. An advertisement will be published on Wednesday, July 12th in French newspapers Les Echos, Le Parisien and Aujourd'hui en France.
For more information:
Raphaël Martinez
AOP Pêches et Abricots de France
Phone: +33 (0)6 09 98 38 09
direction@aop-pechesabricots-france.com