Fruit growing, apples | Coop cuts out Norwegian apple variety: Elisabeth has to uproot 4,000 apple trees

(Strandbuen) In 2017, Coop was interested in acquiring more of the Karin Schneider apple variety, also known as Ingrid Marie redg. Elisabeth Grønvik and several fruit growers naturally planted apple trees of this variety that the food giant Coop wanted.

Until next year, it’s over. Coop has given notice that they no longer accept large quantities of these apples.

– They blame it on the fact that customers want red, hard apples imported from Mediterranean countries, South Africa or Chile. Did they really ask the customers, apple grower Elisabeth Grønvik wonders.

– I am not sure that the customers have a sensitive relationship with this, while it is Pink Lady that is ready packaged in front of their vision. They also do that when it’s Norwegian season, so I don’t think people think they’re not buying Norwegian apples, she continues.

Read also: Not all offers are equally good: – There are wild price differences

– The stores make it easy

In Grønvik there is a good view over the Årdalsfjorden and over to Fiskå. In this sheltered ocean, the apple trees thrive and produce tons of quality apples. She has almost 20,000 apple trees in total and 4,000 of them are Karin Schneider.

– The stores make it easy and just separate the apples into red and green, she says.

She has noticed that the shops even put foreign apples in Norwegian boxes.

Read also: Historical price loss: – You should have an emergency meeting

– If you are not very aware of this, you might think that you are buying apples from Norway when you buy foreign apples. I think that there are many people who want to buy Norwegian apples, who are deceived in the shops. I think it’s a shame that grocery stores display the fruit this way. It’s almost as if they think the Norwegian consumer is stupid, says Grønvik.

Read also: Farmers chase farmers: – We have to put up with falling prices

– Customers need to be more aware

If a customer comes back to the store and says they want the red apples they bought last week, when they were really good, they don’t know what the customer wants. meaning, because there were several types of red apples.

– I hope that the Norwegian consumer will become more aware and make demands on the grocery store they use. Say you want to know what kind of apples they are, and whether they are Norwegian or foreign. Then I think we are a bit on the way, says Elisabeth Grønvik.

– What are you going to do with the 4,000 trees by Karin Schneider?

– Now I’m in the thinking box. Before I pushed them. I don’t do that anymore. Then I may have to sell them as pressed fruit, but the economy is not the same as making apples for the store. In any case, there is no need to have these trees, keep them and let the fruit fall and not use them. Then I might tear them up too, Grønvik says.

Strandbuen knows that she is not the only one in the area who now has to tear down and replace a lot of Karin Schneider’s trees.

Read also: Sweden will drop the plastic bag tax and cut the tax on snuff

It will be a great loss

– What does this mean to you as a fruit farmer?

– It will be a big loss. The sad thing is that a few years ago we were encouraged to plant these apple trees and we have some diversity, both early and late. Then suddenly the grocery stores find out that they don’t bother with this, that they don’t want that variety anymore, but others, says Grønvik.

– They decide this without asking us who grows the apples. Norwegian policy is that we should be as self-sufficient as possible. Then after a few years we have to remove them. How sustainable is this, she asks.

Read also: Against the price increase Rema 1000: – Sales trick!

She believes that, after Coop’s decision, she has 20-30 tons of apples a year that she cannot sell. If she tears down the trees and plants new ones, it’s a lot of work.

In addition, it takes several years before new trees produce the same amount of apples. These trees were planted in 2017 and 2018 and usually last 20 to 25 years. Now they have to be removed after six or seven years when they are at their best, Elisabeth Grønvik points out.

– It will take several years before I get the same representation up and even more years before the costs are paid​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and I have income from the conversion that needs to be done. This is not ok. We are changing like that, but the change is very expensive and I make a living from it, says the fruit grower.

On the way to the orchard with Karin Schreiner, we pass apple orchards with Discovery apples, Aroma and several other varieties in well-kept apple orchards.

Coop wants to predict

Strandbuen has contacted Coop to find out why they are cutting out the Karin Schneider apple variety. Coop responds that they have communicated with their representatives over several years, and that since 2017, they are removing the Karin Schneider blend in their system.

– The reason for this is that the apple variety has problems with internal rotting during storage and the large number comes in the same period as other large Norwegian varieties that have higher sales, such as Rød Aroma, Gravenstein and Rubinstep, says communications consultant Simen Kjønnås Thorsen at Coop Norge SA.

– Is it true that you have had agreements with apple growers who grow this apple variety that you have now ended?

– This is the natural course of apple production, some varieties are introduced and some end up. We want to create a forecast so we are making changes in collaboration with the manufacturing and packaging company. We do this to ensure better finances for the producer and packer, more quality to reduce food waste and to meet the needs of the customers. These parameters are constantly changing, says Thorsen.

He then says that Coop has many customers who prefer Norwegian apples, so the food chain invests heavily in the production of Norwegian apples.

The communications consultant also talks about customer feedback which shows that some customers prefer imported varieties, where Coop mainly imports from Europe. some

– We have expressed this so that our representatives understand the entire market in which Norwegian apples compete, said Thorsen.

– Coop prioritizes Norwegian apples

– Do foreign apples get a higher priority on your shelves than Norwegian apples?

– Coop gives priority to Norwegian apples, and in the main Norwegian season Norwegian apples have the biggest sales place in the stores. We know that many customers prefer Norway and we see that sales increase when Norwegian apples are in season. We are in the peak season for Norwegian apples and we sell many types of Norwegian apples in the autumn, says Simen Kjønnås Thorsen.

The food chain has an agreement on the production of apples with 28 Nordgrønt producers in Ryfylke who deliver apples to Coop through the Ryfylke fruit packing company.

Coop supplies many other varieties, and the agreements Coop has with these producers have contributed to a local focus on apples.

He says that from 2021, the food chain has collaborated with the Telefrukt fruit pack in Gvarv on the project “Norwegian apples in an extended season”.

– Norwegian apple producers, Stiftelsen Norsk Mat and the Information Office for Fruits and Vegetables are behind this national project, with funding from Innovation Norway, says Thorsen.

The communication consultant also explains that the ULO (Ultra Low Oxygen) storage technology is used in this project, which puts the apples in a natural dormancy.

– This protects the crispness and freshness of the apples for months and enables us to sell Norwegian Rubinstep apples until March every year, says Thorsen.

He says that through a special offer concept, the Extra low price range promises to have at least eight varieties of fruit or vegetables at low prices. Currently, Norwegian red apples are part of this concept.

– Will it be made absolutely clear what is Norwegian and what are foreign apples, so that customers are not deceived into buying foreign apples with the idea that they are Norwegian in them?

– Coop has the highest share of Norwegian fruit and vegetables and is the largest user of the Nyt Norge brand. So that consumers can easily find the great Norwegian varieties in our stores, we have a strong focus on clearly labeling Norwegian apples. There is also a legal requirement for proper black labels, says communications consultant Simen Kjønnås Thorsen.