"The plum market has performed well so far," according to Jean-Michel Lassabe, managing director of Apifood. "We benefited from near-optimal weather conditions during production, which has enabled us to obtain relatively exceptional quality with a high sugar content."
Lily Ploom Club varieties selected for their high flavor potential
A satisfactory start to the season, thanks to fine fruit quality and varieties selected for their high flavor potential. "We belong to two plum clubs, including Lily Ploom, which includes 5 varieties: African Rose, a very early red variety at the start of the season; the yellow plum Soryana; Primetime, the club's spearhead this year in terms of volume and quality, enabling us to get very good returns on the market as well as good sales; and Ruby Star, which will start its campaign shortly with large volumes. Lastly, Favor Star, the last variety we planted, is just starting to be marketed, but not to any great extent yet, as it is a very special variety to bring into production. It requires precise development, but in terms of taste, it is exceptional. We will take a closer look at this variety, which has great potential."
© Apifood
Lovita on the rise, and TC Sun well promoted
The harvest of the Lovita plum, also marketed by Apifood, has just come to an end. "This year, the Lovita is growing stronger in terms of volume and taste. We are launching the first Lovita plums this week. Another important variety is TC Sun, the spearhead plum variety in the southwest of France, whose campaign is currently in full swing. Distributors are promoting each variety, and the plums are well represented on supermarket shelves. This is essential in view of the volumes we have for September."
Lower volumes, but a fine season for Reine-Claude plums
In addition to the club varieties, the Reine-Claude season has also been fairly satisfactory despite a drop in volume. "The Reine-Claude season ends this week with the late Bavay variety. We had very good quality fruit, but volumes were down by 15-20% from last year. This is in contrast to the red varieties, which have regained full production potential this year."
© Apifood
A slight dip in sales
However, the season is far from over, so vigilance is called for. "September really is an important month for the whole plum sector. There are far fewer summer products, and from September 15th, plums will be the only summer fruit on the shelves. Our plums will also be top of the range in terms of taste. We noticed a slight dip in sales two weeks ago. The bad weather, coupled with the unhealthy atmosphere prevailing in France at the moment, certainly had a lot to do with it. We were a little disappointed by our sales volumes last week, but if the good weather returns, sales should pick up again."
Prices need to hold up until the end of the season
Although the campaign has been going well so far, Jean Michel Lassabe insists that we need to remain vigilant in September, the decisive month for the plum season. "As far as Apifood is concerned, this year's volumes will be higher than in 2024, but we should not relax, and supermarkets must continue to play their part to support sales. Above all, we must not miss September, which will be decisive for the campaign. So far, prices have held up, which is all the more important given that we just experienced 2 complicated years: a poor season for red plums last year and overproduction the year before, which led to very low prices that did not allow growers to get a fair price for their produce. It is therefore vital that prices hold up right to the end of the season this year, so that our producers can earn a decent income. This is important for the entire French plum sector, which must continually anticipate and plan for the future. As part of the Lily Ploom club, we have been looking into potentially interesting new varieties. We are trying to find early yellow plums, or increasingly sweet varieties, among others. We go abroad to identify the varieties of tomorrow. But for this, we need the second half of the 2025 plum season to be successful, and at this stage, marketers, distributors, and consumers all have to play their part."
For more information:
Jean-Michel Lassabe
Apifood
Bâtiment administratif
Marché Gare
82030 Montauban
Phone: +33(0)5 63 20 22 50
apifood.com