Abstract

In a small importing country in an open economy the competitiveness of domestic production relies heavily on consumer preferences, as is the case with Swedish apple growers. Domestic production is facing increasing competition. Organic apples are imported from Italy, Argentina, New Zeeland, France and the Netherlands. While the total market for organic fruit is expanding, less than 8 per cent of the Swedish apple area, and much less of total harvest, is organic. The reasons for this are examined in the paper, the hypothesis being that conversion into organic production might be a way of diversification on a competitive market. The paper describes the structural development and the strategic moves of the apple sector and discusses its potential competitiveness in the global marketplace. The study consists of a review of market research during the past ten years and of expert interviews with actors in the marketing chain. Specific data are collected by interviews with 36 individual growers, whereof 29 growers representing 50 per cent of all organic production, two potential organic growers and a sample of five leading IFP, Integrated Fruit Production, growers. Two thirds of the organic growers state ideological reasons as the most important reason for choice of production method, while only one out of 29 states financial reasons. Our results show that, rather than using strategies that correspond with the dominating marketing system, the organic growers use alternative, direct sales channels. In marketing they promote the philosophy of their small company as an added value, but very little added value originates from product development or processing. Sales to supermarkets in order to reach a larger number of consumers are the key to market expansion, and IFP is thus taking the role of sustainable and environmentally friendly domestic production. Meanwhile, imports of organic apples are increasing. The conclusions from the paper have implications for exporters to Sweden

Keywords

marketing; apples; product development; strategy; consumer

Published in

Acta Horticulturae
2008, volume: 767, pages: 123-130
Book title: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainability through Integrated and Organic Horticulture, IHC 2006
ISBN: 9789066051775
Publisher: International Society for Horticultural Science

Conference

International Horticultural Congress 2006, International Symposium on Sustainability through Integrated and Organic Horticulture

Authors' information