The declared volume of organic apple production in Poland in 2022-2024 has decreased year-on-year, says Piotr Zieliński, Vice President, production director of Polish apple producer and exporter Gruppa Organic: "According to data of IJARS, organic apple production amounted to 129,684 tons in 2022. The year after, 126,564 tons was produced, a decrease of 2.4% compared to 2022. In 2024, organic apple production amounted to 117,583 tons, another decrease of 7.10% compared to 2023."
© Gruppa Organic
Piotr Zieliński and Damian Kozłowski
Despite the yearly decline in national production, Zieliński states that the exporter has actually increased its sales over the past few years. "Sales volume at Gruppa Organic is growing by approximately 15% year-to-year. In the years 2021-2023, a relative stabilization of growth was noticeable. In 2024, despite worse weather conditions, we managed to maintain sales volumes, mainly by increasing the number of partners to approximately 120, and diversifying apple production to regions of Poland with a more favorable climate. In our opinion, the average annual production of organic apples does not exceed 50,000 tons. Gruppa Organic's market share is 50%, which is something to be proud of."
According to Damian Kozłowski, CEO and commercial director of Gruppa Organic, weather conditions were once again a major challenge this apple season: "Our main export markets are Scandinavia and Spain, and we'd love to develop other EU markets as well."
Zieliński feels that this year's difficulties can be divided into two categories. "There are weather-related and market-related challenges this season. In the first category, unfavorable weather conditions were a major obstacle this year. At the beginning of the season, we had frosts, and the summer was cold and sunless, which had a negative impact on the color of the apples and caused uneven ripening."
© Gruppa Organic
Spreading the apple production over various Polish regions can help mitigate risks, Zieliński states. "Our salvation from losses and a guarantee of maintaining production volume is geographical diversification of production. Spreading apple production across different regions of Poland helps to ensure the volume and quality of production. An important element is the year-round work of the team and production safety, which is supervised by me. In areas where this year's frosts caused the most damage, like in the Grójec region, we plan to use anti-frost installations next year."
© Gruppa Organic
Next to exports, Gruppa Organic also has the intention of increasing organic consumption in Poland, Kozłowski explains: "Our challenge is to build awareness for organic apples in Poland, which we ultimately consider to be most important for our company. The consumption of organic fruit in Poland, including apples, accounts for 0.5% of all fruit. We are committed to promoting this organic trend in Poland, which is why we invite institutions and companies that care about long-term action in this area to cooperate with us."
Zieliński is excited about the new technologies Gruppa Organic has invested in, which involve autonomous robots. "The modern technologies for which we had the opportunity to test this year involved the use of autonomous robots. We're investing in AI-based solutions, specifically GPS on three sprayers. This has provided us with remote monitoring of crops, constant control, and the ability to respond to threats in real time. Ultimately, we plan to install GPS on all 15 sprayers that we have."
© Gruppa Organic
"The greatest interest concerns the Striped Gala varieties. There is also interest in the Golden variety, as well as cheaper varieties such as Red Prince, Red Delicious, Idared, and Jonagored. We will have Striped Gala available in our offer until the end of February, and the other varieties until May and June 2026."
Kozłowski emphasizes that apple producers do not need to be large to be successful or simply to exist on the market: "Gruppa Organic brings together over 120 organic apple and pear producers from Poland. We have professional facilities at our disposal, such as ULO cold stores, sorting lines, and our own transport. The unique model of cooperation we have created in Poland provides a high level of production security. We cooperate with our producers throughout the year: crop protection, consulting, quality control, and for our suppliers, this means predictable sales and production support."
For more information:
Damian Kozłowski
Gruppa Organic Sp. z o.o.
Tel: +48 668 117 500
[email protected]
www.gruppaorganic.com
