November 20 2006, 09:35

The conflict between apple processors and farmers spins up in Poland

According to information provided by Polish mass media, at the present moment the conflict between the producers of apple concentrate, juice and puree and apple growers is aggravating. Those organizations are involved too which represent the interests of the parties. The problem has been traditional in recent years - the purchase prices for commercial apples are too low.

To the opinion of Polish farmers, the purchase prices for apples do not let them cover the production costs. Moreover, the growers' expenses have considerably increased this year. Polish apple business was the most severely affected by the dramatic increase of labor cost. At the same time the processing enterprises speak about the fact that Polish apple concentrate can become too expensive if the purchase price continues increasing. As a result, to the opinion of apple processors, the consumers of Polish apple concentrate in the EU countries will tend to purchase this commodity in Hungary, Turkey, Serbia, China and other countries. In their turn, Polish farmers will be affected as well.

It is worth to note that Ukraine is being rapidly transferred from large exporter of apple concentrate into net importer. Juice consumption is growing in the country, the supply of commercial apples continues declining. You can get more details about the perspectives of apple business in Ukraine during the third international conference "Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2006. Open Market". We remind that registration is necessary to participate in the event. There is less than a week left till the end of registration of the conference participants!