How do European apples support local and international markets?
Orchard production is a key sector of the agricultural economy of European Union (EU) countries. Over the past decades, the EU has become one of the largest producers and exporters of apples in the world. They enjoy recognition both in the EU and non-EU markets. Therefore, their production supports the local economy and international markets, which brings economic benefits to both parties.
Apples are one of the most important fruits produced in Europe. Their cultivation supports the economies of EU countries on many levels. Last year, 11.5 million tons of apples were produced in the EU. The importance of this sector of agriculture is evidenced by the fact that only China produces more apples (last year it was 45 million tons), and the third place in terms of production is occupied by the United States of America, where 5.03 million tons of apples were harvested last year.
European countries such as Poland, Italy, France and Germany have very long and rich fruit-growing traditions, which not only allows them to produce high-quality fruit, but also generates jobs, income and investments in the technological development of plantations (regardless of whether the cultivation is carried out by local family farms or larger groups of producers). Investments in technological development, i.e. modern systems for protecting trees from frost and hail, as well as constantly developed sustainable orchard protection programs, also influence the development and strengthening of other areas of the EU economy.
Europe’s export success
Developing exports of European apples to non-EU markets, especially to Asian countries or the Middle East, can constitute an example of a successful trade diversification strategy. For example, over the last 10 years, exports of European apples to Vietnam have increased from 61 tons in the 2013/2014 season to almost 9 thousand tons in the 2023/2024 season, and exports of apples to India have increased from 3.2 thousand tons to almost 64 thousand tons. European apples are gaining recognition for their high quality, unique taste and sustainable cultivation standards, which are subject to strict control at every stage of production. Practices used in European orchards, such as integrated or organic production, limiting or eliminating residues of plant protection products in fruit, control and certification systems, can be an example for other world economies on how to approach modern cultivation. It is also extremely important that, along with the growing awareness of consumers – also in countries importing such high-quality fruit, the approach to modern cultivation systems can be translated into local production.
It is worth adding that China, as the world’s largest apple producer, is only in third place in terms of export. Last year, less than 796 thousand tons of apples were exported from this country. The first and second places on the podium were taken by two EU countries: Italy with 864.5 thousand tons and Poland, which exported 809.5 thousand tons of apples in 2023.
Trade diversification and the EU internal market
European apple exports to non-EU markets are also of great importance for the stability of the agricultural market in the EU. Thanks to the fact that European fruit growers are diversifying the directions of apple sales and have increasing access to the global market, they can stabilize the prices of these fruits to a greater extent on the local internal market. Such price stabilization, and therefore greater predictability of supply and demand, are crucial for even production planning in the future and investment in the development of fruit farms.
Trade in agri-food products, including apples, builds long-term relationships between EU countries and their non-European trading partners. The EU gains loyal trading partners in this way. This cooperation also promotes mutual understanding of the specifics of production and recipients’ expectations, and the transfer of knowledge helps promote sustainable and ecological farming standards.
Sources:
https://kups.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Raport-14-Owoce-Warzywa-Soki_Lipiec-2024.pdf
https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/DashboardApples/ApplesTrade.html
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/document/download/17a7b758-e5fc-457c-a7ab-4c387db82f90_en