Growers organic canned goods frustrated by high margins

Current retail pricing policies for organic canned and frozen vegetables are hampering sales growth for processors, according to the Organic Canning Committee. According to this organisation, supermarket chains pocket too high margins for organic, thereby positioning these products as expensive and elitist.

The price consumers pay for organic canned and frozen vegetables is more than enough, says Digni van den Dries, member of the Organic Canning Committee. "With this, all costs in the chain can be paid and more than enough can remain for the organic farmer."

Distribution of 'consumer euro'

However, the distribution of the 'consumer euro' in the chain is not proportional, Van den Dries points out. "With it, industrial vegetable growers receive a non-cost-covering price. In contrast, the margins of the mass retailers are well above what is needed. In any case, the margin, both as a percentage and in euros, is much higher than the non-organic variety."

Growing costs up sharply, costs in chain did not

The committee has spent the past six months researching whether it is possible to arrive at a "cost-realistic price development". To this end, talks were held with various links in the chain and data examined. This showed that growing costs on the farm have increased by 20-25% compared to 2020. In contrast, chain costs from the farm to the shop have not increased significantly.

At the supermarket, consumers pay four to ten times the price difference between organic and non-organic preserves. In this respect, the modus operandi of the supermarket chains plays a major role. In this way, they cooperate in unfairly positioning organic products as expensive and elitist. This hinders the growth of sales of those products.

Committee wants more transparent policy for supermarkets

The committee wants supermarket chains to adopt a more transparent policy by equating their margin on organic products with that of non-organic products.

Gfactueel.nl