French eye better stonefruit prices

Although consumption of stonefruit was up among French shoppers last year, ultra-low prices succeeded in hitting sales

As the start of the 2010 stonefruit campaign approaches, French stonefruit growers have made clear their desire to withstand the pressure on prices this year, Le Parisien has reported.

According to the Association of French Peach and Nectarine Producers, 82.4 per cent of French households purchased peaches or nectarines at least once during the 2009 campaign, buying an average of 1.1 kg per shop.

This represented an increase of some 2 per cent compared with the 2008 campaign, as consumers profited from attractive prices.

However, shoppers spent €2.10 per kilo in an average shop, around 14 per cent less than in 2008 and 3 per cent less than the 2005-2007 average.

Intense competition from Italian and Spanish stonefruit is considered to be the main cause of this price pressure.