The VOG Board of Directors met earlier this week for the presentation of the annual report of the Home of Apples in Terlano, Italy.
A vote was held during the General Meeting to elect the members of the Board, which had come to the end of its three-year term.
Georg Kössler was unanimously re-elected to the role of Chairman, and during the plenary meeting he presented the results of the past sales season, which, as he explained, proved to be extremely challenging.
Harvest Well Above Total For Previous Year
The European harvest for 2021, amounting to almost 12 million tonnes, was in line with average volumes of recent years, but well above the total for the previous year. It was therefore clear from the outset that the 2021/2022 marketing season would be far from easy.
"Despite the slow start to the sales campaign, the stability and efficiency of our Consortium enabled us to weather the storm," said Kössler.
"The 2021 harvest proved to be extremely good in terms of size, colour, flavour and, most of all, storage life. Thanks to its wide range of varieties and brands, and in particular thanks to its expertise in category management, the VOG Consortium was able to identify the right moments at which to market its products over the 12 months of the year," he added.
'Major Impact On Cost Of Storing Apples'
Kössler warned that the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the war in Ukraine, have also weighed heavily on the international economic order.
He spoke about how the major rise in energy and logistics costs, in addition to the increase in the price of packaging materials, has had a major impact on the cost of storing and processing apples.
“Nevertheless, thanks to a monumental effort across the board, we can be quite pleased with our business results at the end of the 2021/2022 season,” concluded Kössler. “Positive results that are crucial to the social and economic sustainability of the Consortium. Only if we manage to market our apples at a decent price can we guarantee the future of our producers.”
For more information visit: https://www.vog.it/en/our-apple
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