“There is a huge over production of apples in Poland”, said Zbigniew Cholyk, president of the Polish group of companies Stryjno-Sad Zbigniew Cholyk. (while speaking to sadyogrody)
There is a lot of room for improvement on the apple market. Fruit growers are frustrated with rising costs of production, difficulties in recruiting seasonal workers and low apple prices.
According to Zbigniew, President of the Polish Stryjno-Sad group of companies, the production of apples in Poland in 2021 will reach 4.5 million tons, well above the forecasts of the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) (3.6 million tonnes), and the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) forecast of 4.17 million tonnes and the country’s apple producers forecast of 3 million tonnes.
“Every gardener in Poland knows that there is more apples in the 2021 season than in the previous season. What was the apple harvest in 2020? It was supposed to be 3.4 million tons, but we still have apples in our refrigerators. from last year. At the end of February this year, I said that there are a lot of apples and we will not be able to sell them until August. And last season, and this season, we underestimated the harvest. In 2021, we will not harvest a record 5 million tons, but 4.5 million tons is a must. I think we are making a big mistake hiding the fact that there is a huge overproduction of apples in Poland. Even if most gardeners think that it is “not patriotic” to make this information public “, Zbigniew Cholyk stated.
Consequently, he believes that Poland will continue to overproduce apples for many years to come if no radical measures are taken to restrict production. Investing in the clearing of inefficient plantings and eliminating subsidies for the planting of new orchards should be the priorities. In the long run, taking proper measures to regulate apple production would be better than paying excessive amounts to build up young farms and inspire novice gardeners to join the fruit industry.
“We make apples of the worst quality in Europe, which are also the cheapest. In my opinion, the reason why things are so bad is the lack of organization of the manufacturers. In a normal country, several representatives of large companies – producers discuss with the chains the situation on the fruit market, they plan the harvest and look for ways to ensure sales growth. And we have? In Bedronka (Biedronka – the largest grocery store chain in Poland, note FruitNews) – for some reason, always and only in Bedronka – producers who have no idea about the interaction with this network, about the prices offered by this chain are protesting etc. The overwhelming majority of fruit producers in Poland think only about the selling price of their products. And what about industrial apples? For ordinary gardeners around the world, industrial apples are waste. “
“By constantly increasing apple production, Poland will never prosper. No one will say this out loud, because it is highly apolitical. So, first of all, we must reduce the production of apples in the country, and secondly, we must start focusing on improving the quality of our products, ”Zbigniew Kholyk added.
“I have always been optimistic and believed that the fruit industry in Poland would be successful. But for that to happen, we must change our approach to growing and start working together. Now, reading the latest industry news, it seems to me more and more that this is impossible. And it hurts me a lot. We disunited instead of uniting, ”concluded Zbigniew Cholyk
