Tropical fruit businesses should take note—a growing niche in the market for exotic, organic fruit has translated to brisk sales of organic and fair-trade fresh produce in Europe.
Sales of such fruit and vegetables exceeded the EUR 5 billion mark for the first time in 2007, reports the Organic Monitor. Organic vegetables, valued at EUR 2.5 billion, form the bulk of sales, while sales of organic fruit are predicted to overshadow that of organic vegetable, thanks to new tropical varieties.
Fair-trade fruit and vegetables are reporting robust growth, with sales expanding by 92 percent last year and as a number of European supermarkets commit to fair-trade purchases. In the UK for instance, a quarter of all bananas are now certified fair-trade, the highest market share for any EU country. Organic and fair-trade products have been most eagerly embraced in northern European countries.
Over five percent of all fresh produce sold in countries like the UK, Germany and Finland is now certified organic and/or fair-trade. In Switzerland, this market share has already exceeded 10 percent. A key challenge to the organic fresh produce industry is supply related; European retailers are countering this by developing their global supply chains to ensure that organic food production can fulfill demand and quality issues.
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While Tesco had previously resisted offering mortgages on the grounds that the margins were so tight that they were unprofitable, finance director Andrew Higginson said that the credit crunch seems to have created an opportunity. Tesco may begin offering home mortgages to compete with the major lenders.
In response to consumer research and the global trend for convenience, South Africa's Pick n Pay has opened its first small format convenience store in Fairland, Johannesburg.
Marks & Spencer has opened its first store in mainland China with hopes that it might lift flagging results. As the flagship store opened on West Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s premier shopping street, the UK retailer reported its worst performance for three years with like-for-like UK sales down by over six per cent over the last three months.
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US grocers including Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Stop & Shop have had to hire third party verifiers to root out produce that contains pesticide residue despite organic seals. Some supposedly organic producers are certifying conventionally-grown produce in order to increase the price.
Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has shown it operates best in tough markets, racking up a 10.3 per cent increase in profit of €1,824 billion for the first six months of 2008 to 23 August. Total sales rose 13.8 per cent to €32.1 billion.
