Back in 2009, Belgium’s leading fruit grower organization Belgische Fruitveiling (BFV) started planting new varieties of red apples with a view to supply India’s ever-increasing population with high quality top fruit that met a demand for sweet, crunchy and red varieties. This season is the first time the Joly Red apples have been exported from Antwerp to Mumbai alongside shipments of Conference pears. Marketing development manager Marc Evrard gives www.freshfruitportal.com the lowdown on the new deal.

Approximately 1,000 metric tons (MT) of Joly Reds have been launched in the Indian market in both major retail stores and via chosen street vendors, in a program organized by the Belgian group and importer Yupaa Group, which is taking stock of the first shipments that went out last month.

"This is the first season that we have ample fruit in order to start up a decent enough program with Indian importers. It always takes three to four years when you have new nursery programs before trees start bearing enough fruit that is workable in commercial volumes," Evrard tells www.freshfruitportal.com.

"It's the result of many years work and is an exciting market. We've been working on the Indian market for many years negotiating entry protocols for instance and were finally given the all clear some years back.

"We knew there were some apple varieties which were perhaps not really appreciated by Indian consumers who were more interested in a red apple with a high sugar content and crunchy at the same time; that's when we starting adjusting our planting and nursery schedules to develop new varieties."

Some Indian growers can struggle to cultivate consistently good quality top fruit and coupled with issues of fruit safety, this left a gap in the market for a European supplier like Belgium to step in, according to Evrard.

Complementing the Joly Red apple campaign are Conference pears with a shipment schedule running every three weeks from now until next March-April.

"The Conference pear is a little unfamiliar to the Indian importer, retailers and consumers and there is a lot of education that needs to be done; this is something we are working on.

"Volumes of Conference pears are slightly lower compared with the apples but we will be building this up.

"India has delicious fruits that they grow themselves in the many different regions of the country but food safety is, of course, always a concern. Plus there is a huge population so you need a lot of fruit to satisfy the Indian appetite and our fruit is not in competition with Indian fruit - it is an addition to their fruit diet."

Indian market development

India's rising middle class is demanding better quality fruit and seeks out imported branded fruit in particular.

The Joly Reds and Conference pears will be promoted and sold under the brand Truval. Key promotional messages include the consistent high quality promised by Truval fruit and the fact that it is part of a long-established network of growers who form part of Belgium’s largest cooperative organization, BFV.

"The idea is we start expanding and building on our experience from this season and already the demand is much higher than what we can actually supply so we are moderately optimistic. It looks promising.

"India is not a completely new market for Belgium as over the last few years we have been, on a regular basis, sending over some produce so it's not that we have just started. But it is special this year because we have an apple which is very well liked by the Indian consumers."

Reaping the benefits of a good exchange rate

Another factor that makes the Belgian-Indian deal attractive right now is the favorable exchange rate, Evrard explains.

"What also comes into the equation is the euro-dollar exchange rate. We know that traditionally when the euro is more expensive, when it's well above US$1.29 for instance, it can be very difficult to compete with top fruit from other origins.

"Now, however, it's well below US$1.29 so the exchange rate between the euro and dollar is on the level of around US$1.25 and this makes it easier and more affordable to compete."

Aside from the deal with India, Evrard gave www.freshfruitportal.com an update on the impact of the Russian embargo, saying markets within the EU have been absorbing quantities that otherwise would have been be exported to Russia.

"With regards to the Russian ban, of course we have to face the situation but as far as apples are concerned, there are a lot of apples in Europe generally so that is going to be a challenge anyway.

"There are still some obvious challenges because if you have lost one important consumer then undeniably there is some influence on the market situation but we have also noticed that other markets, including markets closer to home inside the EU, are showing a much bigger appetite for Belgian fruit than they have been over the last few seasons so this is also helping us a lot."

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