Mike Knowles

We Brits have something of a reputation for always talking about the weather, but when you’ve got as much of the stuff as we’ve had over the past few weeks, you would probably be tempted to shout it from the rooftops. With flooding levels predicted to rise over the next couple of decades, that might be the only place to continue this conversation before long.

The majority of people you speak to about the weather this month will agree that it’s been what meteorologists refer to in the trade as “a stinker”, although for differing reasons, depending on whether you’re currently more likely to be (a) losing your cool struggling to keep an umbrella the right way up or (b) desperately trying to apply the factor 50 cream before your skin is fried to a crisp.

In northern Europe, downpours have lashed production of topfruit, vegetables and potatoes, while, at the same time, driving consumers away from supermarket shelves crammed with summer fruit and back to their homes to turn up the heating and settle in for the duration; in the centre and south, meanwhile, Europeans have been introduced to the kind of heat more commonly found in the Sahara. “Uncomfortable” doesn’t tell half the story.

With crops in shorter supply due to damage caused by the rain and heat, it might be argued that prices ought to rise in line with the classic supply and demand equation. But with consumption also falling in many European markets during the past few months as a result of the weather – particularly in the north – this might not be so feasible. When it comes to stonefruit, suppliers based in this month’s featured country, Greece, should have plenty to offer clients after earlier concerns over production volumes were allayed. But not every supplier country will be so lucky.

Demand is going to be much harder to predict. Many of the continent’s leading retailers have also decided this summer’s frighteningly wet, or indeed hot, weather simply isn’t providing enough excitement, so they’ve embarked on major price offensives (see News, p5). Whether or not this brings customers back into their stores remains to be seen. For suppliers who have already had a tough summer, though, the promise of further price cuts is worrying news.

Mike Knowles

In the past 12 months, climate change, like food safety and social responsibility before it, has emerged to become a hugely influential factor which shapes the way consumers think and informs their fresh produce buying decisions. However, once again, the conflicting commercial priorities of diverse industry stakeholders mean there is no real industry consensus on what exactly suppliers, traders and retailers must do in order to fulfill their obligations on this issue.

When food safety fears came to the fore, the industry split, broadly speaking, into two camps: those that felt better certification of pre- and post-harvest agricultural practices was the way forward; and those that saw organic production as the answer. When major concerns over the treatment of workers in supplier countries were raised, many felt corporate responsibility was the answer, while others held Fairtrade aloft as the kind of guarantee the conscientious shopper was looking for. In the end, it has been up to the consumer to decide and for the retailer, supplier and producer to follow.

But now that things like carbon emissions and food miles are also at the forefront of consumers’ minds, the emphasis placed on reducing the industry’s impact on the environment is throwing up some interesting dilemmas when considered alongside these other more established consumer concerns. Is transporting conventional, out-of-season, local strawberries from just around the corner really better than sourcing in-season, foreign, organic strawberries from overseas? Does banning airfreighted fruit and vegetables run the risk of preventing redistribution of wealth and, by doing so, jeopardise the livelihood of the producers who lose their supply deals?

Last month, I visited Whole Foods’ newly opened store in London and was amazed to find that the company’s commitment to sourcing exclusively organic products had compelled it to source several products – including blueberries, carrots and mushrooms – from abroad, despite conventional, UK-grown volumes being readily available on its doorstep.

Of course, it all comes down to knowing what the consumer wants, and this is something which retailers are very good at. They run trials, harvest the data and then let the number-crunchers work out where the real money is. Green issues may be clouding the debate, but when the sales figures come in, everything will become clear.

Mike Knowles

On 6-8 June, FRESH, the annual congress for the European fresh produce sector organised by Eurofruit Magazine and Freshfel Europe, takes place in Istanbul. To coincide with FRESH2007, the June issue contains an in-depth preview (p26-33), plus a special feature on Turkey (p34-49). For the first time in FRESH’s five-year history, and in the 30-year history of the two events that formed FRESH, we are venturing outside the EU. Why? Turkey has the potential to become one of its most valued members, standing as it does across the border between Europe and Asia, at the political crossing point between east and west, and with a foot in both ideological camps that divide Europe from the Middle East.

If Turkey does join the EU in the next few years as expected (this is by no means certain), it can also be a huge asset to the Union’s fresh produce trade. A powerhouse of production and one of the continent’s leading exporters, the country has built a strong reputation in several of Europe’s major markets as a supplier of citrus, cherries, grapes, topfruit and vegetables, while in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East (most notably Saudi Arabia), its export trade has grown significantly over the past decade. At the same time, opening up the Turkish market to a larger volume of imports will offer other EU suppliers a valuable opportunity to grow their business.

At present, Turkey’s fresh produce exports still only account for less than 10 per cent of its total production, so the big question in the next decade will be how it can increase this figure and continue to supply the same high quality. With markets for fresh fruit and vegetables still growing in eastern Europe, Russia, the CIS and the Middle East, Turkey will have a distinct geographical advantage over other European suppliers when it comes to meeting the increased demand.

However, should retailers and consumers in these markets become more exacting in terms of product quality, food safety, traceability and other issues like the environment and Fairtrade, Turkish exporters will need to ensure they can meet the required standards. Better packaging provision will be needed, as will the continued expansion of logistics support and ongoing investments in technology and certification. The industry will also depend on planned improvements to the country’s infrastructure facilitating a greater volume of external trade.

In short, many questions will be asked of Turkey; whether it has the answers remains to be seen. There will be much to talk about in Istanbul…

Mike Knowles

By the end of July, every banana sold by resurgent UK supermarket group Sainsbury’s will be branded Fairtrade. The group’s chief executive Justin King has informed suppliers of their obligations and, as we speak, these companies are working with banana producers to get plantations certified in time. Anyone who thinks Fairtrade is just a passing fad or just another brand for righteous, do-gooder consumers had better think again. Fairtrade is here to stay because not only does it appeal to the public, it’s giving retailers a healthy dose of good PR and a chance to sell more bananas.

As Fairtrade banana sales continue to rise, however, you have to wonder where importers will find the additional volumes necessary to support such a commitment without detracting from the quality of the fruit. Independent inspections need to take place and certification needs to be granted, but even these do not guarantee ample supplies of fruit. As one major European importer told me at the start of this month: “There are other supply options we could switch on for Fairtrade, but you’d be compromising on quality.”

And at some point the retailers are going to want to make a healthy margin out of all this. As well as insisting the price of their bananas will not rise and that quality will not suffer, they have also reassured suppliers that they will not have to foot the bill. In this case at least, they appear to be putting their money where their press releases are. But the financial backing needs to be sustained and, crucially, must be seen as a buying cost rather than a marketing expense.

Across Europe, other retail operators are buying into the Fairtrade produce trend, and you have to wonder where this leaves the major banana companies, who prospered under the licence system and who still make much of their money from supplying conventional bananas in bulk. As more shoppers demand Fairtrade and even organic bananas, it begs the question what impact it will have on the shape of the European banana market as a whole. You would be forgiven for thinking that the trade is about to see upheaval on an even greater scale than that witnessed following EU policy changes in 1993 and 2006.

Food retail has driven change in the fresh produce business for the last 20 years, but in many ways the banana business has been left untouched. The end of the licence system has at last given supermarkets the opportunity to shake up the category for the first time.

Mike Knowles

Obesity is definitely a concern here at Eurofruit Magazine. As you may have noticed, our publication has put on quite a bit of weight this month – so much so, in fact, that I’m going to have to do some training in the New Year so I can carry the heavy tome around at Fruit Logistica 2007 in February.

As our front cover suggests, this well-stocked publication contains everything you could possibly need for getting the most out of the world’s leading annual fresh produce trade fair. We’ve produced our biggest ever Fruit Logistica preview (p30-73), spanning over 40 pages and highlighting many of the most interesting exhibitors due to take part in the event. We’ve got interviews with some of the biggest companies in the business, including the heads of Fyffes and the newly demerged Total Produce, as well as industry leaders from GF Group, The Greenery, Cobana Fruchtring, Anecoop, Canavese and Zespri. And there’s plenty more, including major features on South African grapes and Moroccan citrus, plus our annual Trade NZ supplement. The magazine you’re holding may make your arms ache, but there is certainly nothing overblown about its content.

Even if this magazine is having trouble staying slim, the fresh produce sector itself is making some good progress in the bid to counteract obesity. Projects designed to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables through generic promotions are starting to have an effect; alongside a plethora of national schemes based on the 5-a-Day idea, there have been some notably inventive campaigns such as the Mr Fruitness and Food Dude programmes. The latter has done particularly well and was recently presented with a WHO award for fighting obesity (see p11) by EU Health and Consumer Protection Minister Markos Kyprianou.

But it’s not all good news. The fresh produce trade is competing with some giants of the food industry that have deep pockets and large, committed PR departments. In November, Mr Kyprianou praised groups including McDonald’s, Unilever and Kraft for their recent work to address the obesity problem. The EU needs to give its backing to fruit and vegetable consumption schemes as well, but unless this fragmented sector comes together and starts backing more generic promotions, there’s fat chance of it keeping up.

Laura Gould

Is it a banana? Is it an apple? No, it’s a superfruit! Forget your staple greengrocer commodities; nowadays produce consumption is all about a new breed of superfruits, and if you’re not getting your regular intake of blueberries, cranberries or pomegranates, you’re just not cutting it with today’s die-hard foodies.

New Zealand horticultural development group HortResearch has coined the phrase ‘superfruits’ to refer to any novelty product, rich in anti-oxidants and health benefits, that is being heavily promoted at consumer level (see p123 for more information).

The latest suspects in this line-up of trendy fruits include blueberries, cranberries and pomegranates, with all three enjoying booming global sales as consumers jump on to the anti-oxidant bandwagon.

But here in the UK, we are being told that, great news as it is that these superfruits are so good for us, nothing beats the good old British cup of tea in terms of high anti-oxidant levels.

According to a series of posters splashed all over the London Underground for the past couple of months, just four cups a day of the ubiquitous British beverage are as good as a punnet of blueberries or pomegranates at combatting the evil toxins like booze and nicotine which roam around our bodies.

Which is just as well for the Eurofruit staff. Much as we all enjoy our fruit (honestly!), after a long hard day writing about you lot, nothing quite hits the spot like a good ol’ cuppa.

Supermarkets have never sprung to mind as particularly green, environmentally-friendly establishments – after all, that’s what organic stores and health food shops are for – but it seems that the UK’s major retailers are now making a concerted effort to redress the balance and quieten some of their harshest ecowarrior critics.

Only last month, market leader Tesco announced its intention to open six regional buying offices in the UK as part of its local sourcing campaign, which in itself was an answer to the recent storm around food miles.The retailer has also launched a new rail freight service in order to cut down on lorry usage.

Carrier bags are not immune to this eco-friendly makeover. Our local branch, right next to the Eurofruit Magazine office, has suddently started giving away smaller carrier bags – fine for a sandwich and bottle of coke, not so good for a week’s worth of fruit and vegetables.

Of course, Tesco is not the only retailer taking steps to halt environmental damage. Waitrose is staunchly proud of its local sourcing project, and Sainsbury’s has introduced compostable packaging for 500 of its own-brand products.

But ultimately, how far can a supermarket really go in saving the environment? Keeping prices consumer-friendly does not go hand in hand with a radical ecological policy, and let’s face it, if supermarket prices become comparable to those of smaller food stores, customers will react with their wallets, not their consciences.

Chris White

European fresh fruit and vegetable businesses are benefiting from the historically high levels of movement of workers now happening across the EU.

This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the latest statistics published just over two years after 10 countries from eastern Europe joined the European Union and more or less a year before Romania and Bulgaria are due to join as full members of the EU.

It seems that the current levels of cross-European migration, which are almost unparalleled in the EU’s 50-year history, are allowing economic sectors such as food processing to thrive in the face of intense competition.

That is surely true of the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, which more than many other sectors of the economy has to come to rely on large numbers of relatively low-paid, hard-working people to bring its products to the market.

This applies especially to the more affluent parts of the EU, where the cost of living is higher and wages have had to keep pace with growth.

For example, the latest UK government figures released last month show that some 447,000 eastern Europeans have registered to work in the UK since May 2004.

Most of these new migrants come from Poland, which alone contributed over 200,000 people, with almost all of them aged 18 to 34.

The figures show that many of these migrants to the UK are now employed in the food businesses, with the fresh produce sector an employer of significant size.

No wonder that East Anglia and Kent, both locations of much of Britain’s fresh produce growing and handling operations, are both regions that are now home to the largest number of migrants from the new member states.

“A lot of businesses rely on these people to pick the harvest and the harvest doesn’t wait. It’s ready and it has to be delivered to customers,” commented Philip Hudson, chief horticultural adviser of the National Farmers’ Union, the UK’s main agricultural group. “These people are absolutely vital. Without them, some businesses wouldn’t be able to function at all.”

Immigration has helped push the UK population to over 60m for the first time, with numbers growing by 375,000 or 0.6 per cent in the year to June 2006. This is the fastest growth rate since 1965 and the largest annual increase in the UK population since 1962.

Significantly, government figures also show that the new migrants to Britain are staying for relatively short periods of time. Although net migration to the UK reached 222,600 more migrants coming in than leaving in 2004, some 193,000 of these new migrants say they want to return to their country of origin within two years. As one newspaper put it, this is “a guest workforce that doesn’t stay long”.

Happy to take the kind of low paid jobs that are shunned by their Western European counterparts, these new migrants are very often highly-skilled young people with very big ambitions.

Many of them have left their own countries to profit from the higher wages abroad. And many of them are also here to develop their skills.

You can bet that some of these new migrants who today are working on a packing line somewhere in western Europe will tomorrow be among those entrepreneurs to set up their own fresh produce businesses in eastern Europe.

So fresh produce businesses over here, which are already finding it difficult to get young people to join our sector, could do worse than to identify the brightest and the best of these new migrants to help them take their businesses forward.

After all, isn’t this a sector that prides itself on people who know what it means to get their hands dirty?

Unless your ham has been specially selected from a pig just 30km down the road, your cream clotted at the local dairy or your apples hand-picked by a 100-year-old farmer who has been in the business “man and boy”, it seems that nowadays your shopping bag simply doesn’t cut it with the upper crust.

Local sourcing is the recent trend taking the world’s foodies by storm, from the UK to continental Europe and the US. As the issue of food miles receives more and more press attention, and farmers’ markets and organic stores increase in popularity all over the globe in a bid to boost local, small-scale businesses, retailers are having to take a more eco-friendly, socially responsible stance.

And so when products are in season, retailers are now running huge promotions to boost sales of local goods, such as the UK asparagus campaign featured on page 100 of this month’s magazine.

The irony of course is that those consumers jumping on the local sourcing bandwagon are probably the very same complaining about the effects that production is having on their surrounding environment. The polytunnel debate raging in the UK as a result of increased strawberry plantings is just one example – if customers want fresh UK-grown strawberries, they will have to learn to put up with the technology needed to produce them. If not, then we will be back to higher levels of imports during the summer months.

Which raises the question: is this foodie trend a short-lived one? Or is the demand for local sourcing here to stay?

Caroline Pike

By the time this issue of Eurofruit Magazine lands on your desk (as eagerly awaited as the first snowdrops of spring, no doubt), the World Cup may well be over. As I write this, however, I find myself in exactly the same position as I do every four years – wondering who the hell I’m going to support for the next two weeks.

This is usually because my beloved Scotland have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a nail-biting thriller against Latvia and failed, once again, to progress past the group stages. This year, however, we did not even manage to qualify and, having drawn Italy and France in the qualifying stages of Euro2008, I fear it may be a long time until the Tartan Army will be seen, lifting their kilts and flashing their crown jewels, in a town near you.

But enough of my woes. For many, the World Cup is proving to be something of a cash cow and the fruit industry is just one sector that appears to be benefiting. UK supermarket chain Waitrose has reported a 50 per cent increase in sales of strawberries, cherries and peaches compared to the same week last year, a phenomenon the retailer is attributing to the desire of female footie fans to snack healthily during games. I have to say, I am a little dubious about such claims. I mean, how often do you hear the immortal words: “Let’s get the jackfruit in - the football’s about to start!”?

According to Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti, the average armchair supporter will pile on around 5kg during the World Cup, thanks to a diet of beer, crisps, chocolate and more beer. But weight-gain is not the only hazard that can be avoided if you reach for a plum instead of a pint. Coldiretti claims that melons and lettuce can help combat high blood pressure and nerves. However, the body also points out that melons contain “modest laxative properties” which could prove troublesome to say the least if you’ve extra time and penalties to sit through.

For those of you with teams left in the competition, I wish you every success (except England of course). And if your team doesn’t quite manage to get its hands on the coveted trophy, remember there are many ways you can console yourselves. After Scotland lost 3-0 to Morocco in Saint-Etienne during World Cup 1998, around 8,000 Scottish fans drowned their sorrows with approximately 125,000 litres of beer. Bars ran dry, and fresh supplies had to be shipped in to quench the thirst of the disappointed Scots. It makes you proud.