Price pressure limits Danish apples in supermarkets

Danish apples are scarce on supermarket shelves despite the autumn harvest, as retailers push down prices and can turn to cheaper imports, DR reports.

Apples from countries including Poland, Australia and Italy are more prominent in stores, even though Danish orchards have fruit ready to eat. Only 19 per cent of apples sold in Denmark are Danish, according to an analysis by Agriculture and Food.

Torben Toldam-Andersen, a fruit-growing lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, says supermarkets contact several Danish suppliers and press each to lower its price. If they do not consider the offer cheap enough, they buy from Poland instead, he said.

Danish apples can be found at Pometet, an apple gene bank and research unit under the University of Copenhagen in Taastrup. It holds around 250 Danish apple varieties.

Toldam-Andersen says growers need to receive five kroner per kilo, rather than 3.50 kroner, if varieties such as Ingrid Marie, Filippa and Gråsten are to survive. He said growers are under pressure and need signs that consumers want Danish apples.

Jens Skovgaard, chief executive of Cold Hand Winery, which uses Danish apples to make fruit wine, also criticised the price. He said the price for first-grade apples was 3.50 kroner per kilo shortly after the Second World War, and argued that supermarkets share responsibility for prices remaining unchanged.

Jacob Krogsgaard Nielsen, a spokesperson for Salling Group, said prices are based on quality and demand. He said the company negotiates as customers’ representative to secure the best possible price, while ensuring suppliers receive an amount that reflects the product’s quality and demand.