Hello everyone





I have received detailed feedback from our fruit experts, which I would like to share with you in order to shed some light on the complexity of the issue.





The current situation regarding the origin of apples


We naturally prioritize Swiss produce as usual. It's no coincidence that Migros is an important partner of Swiss agriculture and also endeavors to ensure that the entire domestic production can be marketed





As we all know, the harvest was very small and stocks dwindled rapidly. As a result, various apple varieties have already run out. We are therefore supplementing with imported goods as required. In the meantime, the priority European apples have also run out and since the beginning of May we have been offering the new harvest from the southern hemisphere, i.e. New Zealand/South Africa/Chile/Argentina.





Demand/fault tolerance/food waste


We are guided by the demand of our customers. We often find that the most beautiful apples are rejected in open sales and that when selling packaged goods, those that do not meet personal taste requirements are left behind. At the same time, we have noticed that customers have become much more aware of food waste in particular.





Migros is involved in various industry organizations and is in active contact with the production sector. The marketing concept is drawn up and target prices agreed by the production and retail sectors in the Dessert Pome Fruit Product Center. This exchange between production and trade takes place regularly both before and during the pome fruit season, and adjustments are decided jointly.





Customers expect high internal and external quality. It is important to both our customers and ourselves that the food produced can be consumed as such. Thanks to our M-Budget range, we can also sell fruit and vegetables that deviate from the norm in terms of caliber and appearance.





Labeling (responsible for supply management)


There are legal requirements that we must adhere to when it comes to labeling origin (the country of origin must be indicated, no country regions possible).





I hope this detailed feedback from our specialist managers answers your current questions.





With best regards


Kathrin

@Kathrin_Migros Thank you for the detailed and informative report.
I can certainly ask two questions at this point:

1) I understand that imports had to be made earlier due to the frost of April 2017 and I am glad that priority is being given to European produce. What surprises me is that I am faced with apples from Germany in the 4 franc range and those from New Zealand in the 3 franc range - I simply have to realize that storage costs over several months are more expensive: Storage costs over several months are more expensive than fresh produce halfway around the world.... How do apples and pears, for example, get to us from the southern hemisphere?

2) "When it comes to the designation of origin, there are legal requirements that we have to adhere to (the country of origin must be labeled, no country regions possible)."- Nobody questions this, but when I stand in front of a 10m wide range of apples in the MMM, which is almost 2m deep, and then read the country name in small print at the back, but only if I can stand in front of it at a direct right angle.... An additional Swiss coat of arms or the Council of Europe flag would get you there faster. What speaks against this additional "color coding"

The situation is only worse in the deep-freeze section ... until you only find this "Elaboré en...", why not on the windshield ? you could avoid so many unnecessary openings....

Hello marcoti





Thank you for your new questions.





1) Once again the law of supply and demand is expressed here: The frost has also hit Germany and our other neighboring countries hard, so the supply of apples is correspondingly scarce there too. This is why apples are more expensive when demand is high and supply is low.

The apples from overseas come to us in Switzerland by ship. That takes a while, but Swiss apples are also stored... so the costs even out.





Personally, I can add that I was particularly impressed when I learned that, despite the long journey, the ecological footprint is no greater than when apples and pears are stored in cold stores here. This has given me a lot to think about ever since...





2) I will ask our fruit/vegetable experts again what your idea of ideal labeling would be. Thanks for all your input!





Have a nice day


Kathrin

Thank you @Kathrin_Migrosfor your answer. For me as an (almost) annual consumer of apples and pears, it is reassuring to know that these products are imported by land and sea and that the ecological footprint is therefore compatible with my expectations. I could imagine that modern refrigerated container ships would reduce energy consumption as far as possible for cost reasons alone, or even use alternative energy.
In the case of agricultural products from abroad, there is also the question of wages in relation to purchasing power in the country, and you don't always hear good things even from southern EU countries. From this point of view, as an annual consumer you always have to adapt... ;-)
But for many products, I'm happy to live with seasonal availability, even if transportation makes this possible all year round.
Have a nice weekend.