When the season of tomatoes it wants more

Fisheries by crates of 2 kg, apples by 5 kg instead of 2 bags. "For consumers to enjoy the quality and quantity, with the hope of a summer weather", promises the Federation of enterprises of the trade and distribution (FCD), which includes including Carrefour, Auchan or system U. This weekend and the next great distribution organise on its parking lots of the "sales to unpacking" fruits and vegetables. The principle is simple: non-store, consumers can take advantage of price broken to buy products by large volumes, sold by the employees of the signs. The ventes of this type, commenced on 23 July, would normally have completed on 9 August. But at the request of the producers, the Agriculture Ministry has authorized two negliGent weekends. It is one of the measures of the emergency plan put in place the crisis of overproduction.

The authorization of the Ministry deals only with a dozen of fruit and vegetables - melons, pêches, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums, pears, apples, grapes, leeks, salad, courgettes, artichokes-"economic crisis". All distributors, including the futures, are allowed to perform these operations, although in reality, only the large surfaces, which have particular parking, can generally afford.

Setup the surplus

According to the FCD, the first balance sheet is generally positive. On July 23 and 24 were laborious because the authorization of the Ministry has been given as July 21. But the following have been successful: more than 2,000 stores, including half of hypermarkets, participated. For example, 4,000 tonnes of fisheries and nectarines were passed in two days, up to 25 cheaper than last summer. And weekend promotions seem to be pulling prices down for the week: "we are not going to tell the consumer comes on Wednesday,"return Saturday, it will be cheaper"", says Jérôme Bédier, Chairman of the FCD.

For consumers, the interests of the operation is not discussed. Producers, on the other hand, the effectiveness of the device is in dispute. Jérôme Bédier is positive: with the heats of the spring and late July, almost 8,000 tonnes of melons were available, double the capacity of absorption by the market. Flowing the surplus, the sale to unpacking "therefore helped redress the Apricot and melon markets: they are no longer in a situation of economic crisis".

"Too many promotions kills."

But for producers, the device still has its limites. "Apricot prices have simply up because it is at the end of production, but the 2009 campaign, it is still planted," said Emmanuel Demange, Director of the National Federation of producers of fruit (FNPF). "The problem is around", and stocks do not explain to them only the fall of prices. "There is a willingness to trade lower prices to meet certain demands, especially on purchasing power," adds Emmanuel Demange, all sales to unpacking "must not be repeated, because too many promotions kills".

"It is a second-best solution, for its part explains André Bouchut, peasant Confederation." It must be in the preventive: when the crisis is there, it's too late! "Should, in his view, organizing the production of fruit and vegetables at European level, to counter foreign competition that flooded the stalls in the winter:" is that it has the meaning to eat tomatoes twelve months of the year. " When the season of tomatoes, it wants more.