Organic fruit sales continue to rise in France as consumer demand for organic fresh produce remains buoyant. In spite of flagging growth in other organic categories, organic fresh fruit sales are projected to increase by 25.8% to €54m (US$53m) in 2002.
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A new study by Organic Monitor shows that the organic fruit market is undeveloped compared to other sectors of the French organic food industry and healthy growth rates are envisaged to continue in the short term. The major drivers of growth are to be increasing retail penetration and broadening of organic fresh produce range in hypermarkets and supermarkets.
The findings showed that most sales of organic fruit occur from natural food shops, which held 53% market share in 2001. Few major retailers actively market organic fresh fruit and those that do have a limited product range. Direct sales are an important channel for French-grown organic fresh fruit.
Apples and oranges have the largest market share in the organic fruit sector, however the highest growth is expected to be in the tropical and exotic fruit category. The addition of organic exotic and tropical varieties to the fresh produce range of the major retailers is to fuel market growth. Some companies reported sales increases of over 50% in this category last year because of this.
The French organic fresh produce sector is facing many challenges. One of the most important is the need for organic fruit suppliers to cater to the growing needs of the hypermarkets and supermarkets. A high level of fragmentation at the supplier level is causing inefficient distribution to the major retailers and this is inflating retail prices. Consolidation is envisaged in which 2-3 major companies emerge to meet the requirements of the growing retail trade.
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By GlobalDataCompetition is also expected to intensify as demand slows from export markets. Over 40% of organic fruit sales are to the European market with the leading suppliers generating most of their revenues from exports. Slowing growth rates and increasing self-sufficiency in the European market are to limit export opportunities for French companies in the future.
Another challenge is the slowing conversion rate to organic agriculture in France. The amount of organically managed land rose by 13.5% to 420,000 hectares in 2001. Waning interest from farmers to convert to organic farming is likely to mean that the government target of 1 million hectares by 2005 will not be met.
To find out more about this Organic Monitor report, click here.
