“Much more susceptible to whims of the market with free varieties”

“The wonderful thing is that we've managed to let growers earn a profit from their product, thanks to our varieties. Henry Müller and Urs Luder from GKE pull the cart for this, naturally, but we also have much to thank our partners for,” says Ilse Hayen, manager of EFC. Globally, EFC organises the production of starting material and trees of new varieties. “We currently offer Nicoter, Nicogreen and Cepuna: also known as Kanzi, Greenstar and Migo.”

Free variety versus club variety

Can you nowadays only make money with club varieties? Ilse doesn’t think so. “If you supply good quality with a variety that isn’t part of a club, you can definitely make a profit with it. The disadvantage of a free variety is that these have many more ups and downs. You are much more susceptible to the whims of the market and productions in other countries. It is more a question of ‘luck.’ You have more certainty with club varieties. By working closely together, we manage to keep prices stable and constant for each other. Besides, we help growers take care, for the best quality. Either for an entire season or an entire year, consumers are guaranteed a good, constant flavour with good club varieties.” Whichever top fruit congress or event Ilse attends, she always hears club is the future. “Wherever I am in the world, this is always confirmed. It doesn’t have to be in the same manner as with EFC, there are many other options as well. Top fruit producers will employ a more and more structured and conceptual approach in future.”

New varieties

Ilse indicates that EFC uses a database made up of varieties. “We are in contact with breeding programmes from prominent organisations and universities worldwide. New varieties are tested in various countries. When the tests are positive, we want to acquire the rights to a variety as soon as possible.”

Migo was recently added, and there is still room for new apples and pears, according to Ilse. “We might get a red-blushed pear in future. We’ve got plenty of competitors, so we can’t yet say a lot about new varieties. It is an art to always be able to find the right fruit. I expect that we will make a decision about what our latest variety will be in the short term, within two years. It will then be several years before the product is actually on the shelves. Besides, volume has to be large enough. Retailers are usually not too eager for a product that is unknown and hardly available.”

for more information:
Ilse Hayen
European Fruit Cooperation
Kernielerweg 59
B-3840 Borgloon - Belgium
Tel: +32-(0)12-349900
ilse.hayen@efcfruit.com
www.efcfruit.com