Despite a projected decline in apple production across Europe due to climate change and shifting market demands, the VOG Consortium remains optimistic.
Prognosfruit 2024 in Budapest revealed that the upcoming European apple season will face challenges, with production expected to drop by 11.3% to 10.21 million tonnes across most countries.
With a strategic focus on diversifying its assortment, expanding into international markets, and boosting consumption, the South Tyrolean consortium is well-positioned to navigate these challenges and maintain a strong presence in the global apple industry.
VOG CEO Walter Pardatscher commented, “To stay competitive, players have to adopt clearly defined production and marketing strategies and offer a high-quality product more and more closely attuned to customers’ needs.”
In this context, crop protection systems such as anti-frost systems and anti-hail nets, able to safeguard the growing area’s resources, are becoming more and more important.
Varietal innovation is also proving to be fundamental, with the choice of varieties that have greater resistance to the changing climate.
'Ready To Respond To Challenges'
VOG Sales Manager, Klaus Hölzl, added, “Our consortium is ready to respond to challenges by fielding all the solutions that enable us to protect our members’ output and their livelihoods.
“We’ve had a tough year, which is ending on a positive note, and we’ll also have the answers for the coming season, trusting in the quality of our apples and the category management policies we’ve been developing for some time, both for integrated production and for our organic apples.”
This year’s Prognosfruit programme also included a round table discussion on fruit and vegetable marketing, which shared best practices on the creation and development of strategies to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption.
VOG Marketing Manager, Hannes Tauber, who participated in the round table, added, “Our varietal assortment is able to meet diverse requirements for 12 months a year, and this is a fundamental asset for tackling the global situation and managing consumers’ demands effectively.”
The consortium aims to produce apples of the highest quality that can be sold in different marketing periods to meet the demands of consumers throughout the year.
Tauber explained, “We’ve also worked very hard to create strong brands, starting by 'sowing' a brand, then 'cultivating it' and then 'harvesting' the benefits with the most mature brands.
“With this activity, combined with our innovative marketing campaigns, we aim to encourage consumption of apples and fruit and vegetables in general, and we’re optimistic about the coming year.”
This article was written in partnership with VOG Consortium.
