WNVCM9HK

3256

24 décembre 2020 13:40

12 avril 2021 17:13

Certified organic apples in Australia currently attract a premium over conventionally produced product. Some conventional producers are being enticed by the lucrative returns and requests for organic produce are coming from their existing market channels. Organic production has seen constant growth over recent years to meet increasing demand, though it is expected that the current global financial downturn will slow this growth and reduce premiums to some extent. The three year conversion phase where fruit is produced to organic standards but cannot be marketed as organic is seen by many producers as a risky proposition. As apple producers working towards organic certification our first concern was maintaining profitability. Profitability during the conversion phase comes down to three things. Yield, cost of production and price received. During the first conversion year, fruit must be grown organically but not marketed as organic. In the second and third conversion years fruit may be marketed as organic in transition if a market exists for this. Price received in the apple market is influenced by many factors including supply/demand, variety, level of value adding / specialized marketing. Quality issues like size, colour percentage, defect levels (pest and disease pressure), storage-ability, which affect packout percentages are most within producers’ control. Our decision to undergo the organic certification process came after eliminating most chemical inputs we had previously used as conventional producers and instead focusing on improving the health of our soils and trees using a biological approach. Gaining organic certification will enable us to take advantage of an established market category and potentially realize some extra returns for our efforts. Common belief is that if you convert to organic, yield will reduce, cost of production will increase and quality will reduce. My research focused on understanding whether these beliefs were justified, and if not, what were the key factors which allowed producers to avoid the pitfalls. My research involved visiting several growing regions around the world to better understand what growers were achieving both in their production and marketing and to see if any production techniques could also apply in our situation. My travels included visiting China, Japan, USA, Holland, Italy, UK and New Zealand.

None

• AB - Spécifique
• FREDO aspect technico-économique
• FREDO conversion en AB
• GEO Australie
• GEO Global
• pomme
• rendement
• verger
• économie

43

2008

1 janvier 2008