Foreign supply of organic apples
Final report
Abstract
The aim of the proposed research project is to analyse the supply of domestic and imported organic apples on the German market and to investigate the activities of German apple producers and traders in order to secure their market shares.
The project will consist of two main steps of data collection and analysis with different methodological approaches. The first step aims at describing the structure of the organic apple market in Germany (production regions, quantities, trade flows etc.), mainly using data from AMI and other statistical sources.
The second major step is to identify key stakeholders and to conduct in-depth interviews with these experts from production, trade and import. Interviews with producers will provide information on the amount produced, on-farm processing, relevant market channels and the problems associated. The interviews with traders will reveal the amount of apples traded and their origin, the structure of the traders, particularities of the organic apple market as well as difficulties in sourcing and marketing. A topic that will be part of all interviews will be the quality of relationships between different actors in the market.
The analysis of the supply and trading structures will increase the market transparency for German apple producers. The organic apple market in Germany and Europe is characterised by quite intensive cooperation at different levels. The identification of success factors of these various forms of cooperation will provide valuable information for the stakeholders in the market for organic apples. Additionally, recommendations for actors in other sectors will be made possible.
Duration of project
August 2010 to July 2011
Project management
- Dr. Katrin Zander
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hamm
University of Kassel
Project partners
- Peter Rolker, Ökofrucht Peter Rolker, (Fruit wholesaler)
- Dr. Egon Treyer, Marktgemeinschaft Bodenseeobst eG, (Fruit wholesaler)