IFTA Conference Travels To Germany
April 1, 2009 
Marcin Hermanowicz of Poland’s Fresh Fruit Services told the audience of how his country has become a major player in the world apple market. Poland’s now #4, behind only China, the U.S., and Turkey. (Two other European countries are fifth and sixth, Italy and Germany, respectively.) Like China, Poland’s production has been skyrocketing of late, and has tripled in the past 15 years. That tremendous growth has come with problems, namely, they don’t have the necessary storage capacity. Because of that, Hermanowicz says they have to sell about three-quarters of their fresh market crop by Christmas.
Helwig Schwartau of Germany’s Zentrale Markt-und Preisberichstelle — he works out of the Hamburg wholesale market — talked about the shifting tastes of consumers. Europeans used to favor green apples and, to a lesser degree, red apples, but both are down in favor of bicolored apples. Germany itself used to be golden country, but it too has gone to bicolored varieties, with Jonagold, Elstar, and Braeburn the favorites. Schwartau added that the big change in climate — a factor that many speakers mentioned during the conference — is changing what varieties are grown where.
Kurt Werth of Italy’s SK Südtirol (South Tyrol, a world-renowned growing region that produces half of Italy’s apples and one-tenth of Europe’s total) said they are learning that it’s absolutely critical for growers to work together. They know they can produce top-quality fruit, and are now focusing on the marketing of certain targeted varieties to bring the best returns. “It might be easier to make more money by better organizing than by doing better in the orchard,� Werth concluded.
Jacques Vanoye of France’s L’Association Nationale Pommes Poires immediately followed Werth to the lectern, and, interestingly enough, had a 180-degree view of the growing-marketing situation. “The only way to stay in the market is to improve our way of growing apples and pears.�
Peter Zadravec of Slovenia’s Chamber of Agriculture in Slovenia Fruit only wishes that such questions were at the forefront for the growers in his tiny country. The Balkans have been wracked with nationalistic strife in the past, he said, remarking of Kosovo: “Without the terrible war, I don’t think you would have heard of it.� He hopes that some day his country’s mostly small growers can organize as they have in South Tyrol. But for now, he’s just happy they have kept the peace in recent times. “We can only hope this region will stay without war,� he concluded.
Weathering The Economic Storm
Finally, the keynote speech, the Robert F. Carlson Distinguished Lecture, was delivered by Tony Alexander, the Bank of New Zealand’s chief economist.
He warned that countries that restrict trade to protect their economic interests in these troubled times could be slitting their own throats in the long term. While such a strategy might have short-term benefits, in the long run the disruptions could be considerable. This is the first time since the rise of a truly global economy that we have encountered such a crisis, said Alexander.
But despite the general gloom pervading the world, Alexander told the “pip fruit� growers — as they say Down Under — that they were better positioned to weather the storm than those in other industries. “If you were retailers, or in tourism, I might expect to see 50% of you not in business in a few years,� said the glib economist, before adding with a smile: “Aren’t you folks used to a 100% drop in income?�
In all seriousness, said Alexander, fruit growers’ strategic plans are generally longer term than those in other businesses, which means they don’t get hit with the same shock in the short term. There are other potential silver linings to the dark clouds for growers, he said. For example, as people are laid off, labor will be available for the foreseeable future, which gives growers some time to put in motion a move to mechanization.
However, he added that growers need to get their ducks in line short term as well. In these uncertain times, having a cash cushion can be a real comfort. For example, Alexander said that if a retailer offers a deal to lock in purchases down the road, even if the price might not be as high as the grower wants, he might be advised to take it. “In this environment, there’s a premium for cash in hand,� he said. “Just be clear (to the retailer) that it’s a one-time deal.�
And The Little Guy?
How club varieties of apples might affect the average grower was one of the topics of a lively discussion on new apple varieties.
Growers are always interested in new varieties. Too interested, some might say, as in recent years there have been a legion of hot new varieties that caught growers’ fancy, and soon were overplanted. Just a few short years later the hot new variety was just another piece of fruit.
Robinson argued that if tree fruit growing becomes “corporate,� all of us in the industry lose something. He noted the clubs can “lock out� smaller growers, and wondered if any of the marketers of the club varieties on the panel would be altruistic enough to help out the little guy.
Italy’s Alessio Martinelli, who markets the Rubens variety, said it’s not a question of small grower versus big, it’s a question of growers — no matter what their size — linking to an organization.
Seconding that sentiment was Dennis Courtier of Pepin Heights Orchards in Minnesota, who’s known for the Honeycrisp variety and is now marketing another University of Minnesota apple, SweeTango. “We have small growers (in the club),� he said. “I’d argue that what’s killed small growers is low prices. We need to do something about low prices.�
Lutz Is New President
Larry Lutz of Canada took the reins as president of the International Fruit Tree Association from Neal Manly of Washington’s Willow Drive Nursery at the 52nd annual meeting’s banquet. A native of Nova Scotia and a fifth-generation fruit farmer, Lutz attended the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and attained a B.Sc Agriculture with a major in Plant Science. He was employed in the plant aquaculture industry for a few years after college, but since 1988 has been involved in the tree fruit industry as an advisor, manager, and grower.
Lutz served as a director of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association for many years, chairing a number of committees; past director of the Nova Scotia Tree Fruit Research Foundation; past president of the Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia; and a member of various farm organizations such as the Apple Farmers Association of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.
Lutz has been employed by Scotian Gold Cooperative Limited as vice president, agricultural services for the past 16 years. He provides technical advice to more than 50 growers including nutrient recommendations, pesticide advice, variety and planting system recommendations, fruit tree sourcing and sales, specialized equipment sourcing, organization of investigative travel, and sourcing and coordination of offshore labor.
Lutz’s own farm consists of about 50 acres of higher density apples and peaches, mostly on M-26 and M-4 rootstock, as well as an annual production of 3,000 to 5,000 nursery trees. He has four children, ages 12 to 19, and “a very understanding wife,� Janice.
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