In order to fight against external competition and to promote local production, Adrien Morenas, deputy of the third district of Vaucluse, did everything in his power to organize various meetings and discussions with the actors of the sector who support the unique taste quality of the Carpentras strawberry. He gathered a wide range of actors, who play a role from the picking until the strawberries are put on the market. The goal was to find solutions that would allow the “red diamonds” to face the foreign competition and the sometimes unfair practices of some retailers.
The Carpentras strawberry trademark includes several varieties recognized for their specificities, such as the gariguette, ciflorette, pajaro and clercy.
The first two of these varieties arrived on the market early this year. However, they were then confronted with the monopoly of the Spanish strawberries, which have more attractive and affordable prices, as they are not produced organically. Indeed, although the Spanish strawberries are sold at about 1 €/kg [0.5 USD/lb] in supermarkets, the price of picking alone for the French strawberries is 0.8 €/kg [0.4 USD/lb], which makes the selling price climb to 7 €/kg [3.5 USD/lb] around the Easter holidays.
According to Morenas, it is imperative to remedy the precarious situation the Carpentras strawberry is currently in. By bringing together to Regional Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DRAAF), the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT), as well as the Trade and Distribution Federation (FCD), he hopes to stimulate the communication about the locally produced strawberry, by presenting it in promotional catalogs and proposing promotional events in supermarkets.
Source: 7detable.com
