The amount of money it takes for producers and businesses in the fruit trade to comply with the additional requirements of retailers, cannot be covered by the raised selling prices anymore. This is especially true when the producer's prices are rising as well. This is the result of a survey which was conducted on the behalf of the German Fruit Trade Association (DFHV), which asked the question: Does the required added value for fruit and vegetables actually makes the products worth more.
For a few years now, the DFHV has been supporting research and studies on topics regarding the fruit trade. In 2016 they used the example of citrus fruit from overseas to examine the additional challenges for producers to comply with the long-term requirements and quality standards needed to import fruit into Germany while not being able to use plant protection products.
The current research, which was conducted by a team of scientists at the Technical University of Munich, has taken on this subject in terms of another aspect. What do these additional requirements mean for a business in the fruit trade and the producers? But most of all: Do these extra requirements actually add any value to the fruit trade? The result, according to the DFHV, is disappointing: The increasing of the prices between 2005 and 2015 has not been able to cover the extra costs for fruit traders, as the producers' prices have risen as well. Especially for smaller suppliers this caused a missing added value and lowered profit margins.
