Polish apple producer associations unite against crisis

One of them is the LubApple initiative, which brings together six groups of producers from the Lublin area: ZPO Stryjno-Sad, Lubsad, Witabo, FruVitaLand and SADPOL ZPO, allowing it joint participation in trade fairs, the negotiation of contracts and a shared common pricing policy. The entity has the potential to sell 100 thousand tonnes of apples, while one of the largest groups, Stryjno-Sad, only reaches 20 thousand.

"We need to consolidate, as it is becoming more and more difficult to work on your own. Furthermore, we aim to reduce price competition on the apple market. With this partnership, we have become one of the largest traders in Europe," said Zbigniew Hołyk, president of Stryjno-Sad.

Another initiative is the umbrella group Appolonia, in Grójec, which brings together 19 entities from four provinces; it is intended as a platform for the exchange of information between its members and for mutual legal and administrative assistance. Its members ensure that they want to jointly implement not only the sale of the fruit, but also other aspects, such as its processing and packaging.

Other groups from the Grójec and Chynow area have also long formed part of Fruit Union, which aims to establish contacts for the sale of Polish fruit in the Asian, American and Middle Eastern markets.

Also, the Roja group, led by Roman Jagielińskim, created a consortium of 18 groups of producers who are considering building an NFC plant for the processing of apples and the production of juice.