The pome fruit season is underway with little demand at the moment, although the stocks in storage are also being released without any rush, allowing balance to be maintained in the market.
"The average prices of apples are slightly higher than last year's due to the fact that, in general terms, there are lower volumes in cold storage throughout Europe, and the processing industry is paying higher prices," says Sergio Alonso, Financial Director of the Zaragoza-based cooperative Cosanse.
"I'd say that this apple season is slightly better than the previous one, while in the case of pears, there has been an increase in Conference prices due to a lower supply because of flowering and fruit set problems," he says.
This year, Cosanse's apple and pear crops in the Jalon Valley have been significantly affected by the impact of hail in summer. "We lost around 3 million kilos of pome fruit intended for commercial use, almost half of what we produce, of a total volume that is decreasing every year," says Sergio Alonsos.
Although the cooperative continues to produce around 6 million kilos of apples and just under a million kilos of pears annually, its business is increasingly focused on stone fruit and cherries. According to Sergio Alonso, "Growers in this area of Zaragoza have been switching from pome fruit to stone fruit for years due to profitability issues, high planting and production costs, and the risks posed by diseases such as fire blight in the case of pears."
"Nonetheless, despite the fact that we are not a major operator, pome fruit allows us to provide continuity to the workers in the plant during the winter and to maintain supply lines to the supermarket chains we work with in the domestic market, as unlike stone fruit and cherries, our apples and pears are not exported," he says.
Cosanse mainly produces the apple varieties Golden and Royal Gala, as well as some smaller quantities of Reinette, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Verde Doncella. As for pears, they mainly grow the Conference.
For more information:
Sergio Alonso Zaragoza
San Sebastián Agricultural Cooperative Society (COSANSE)
Tel.: +34 976600050
[email protected]
www.cosanse.com