December WAR 07

December 2007, World Apple Report Highlights

A Clean, Green New Year
The global climate change summit in Bali in December 2007 is just one indicator of the pressure that is building on all of agriculture, including the apple industry, to be cleaner and greener from now on. It is not yet clear what new regulations or taxes on commerce and trade will be imposed, or whether these will be uniform across countries. The apple industry can choose to fight these new government actions, react only when forced to or be proactive in reviewing and reforming its current practices and procedures. This article argues that the third option might be best for the apple industry.

Chiquita's Checkered Career
The Chiquita brand was once the most admired brand in the produce world. However, in the last two decades, the Chiquita company has suffered numerous setbacks. After recovering from bankruptcy in 2002, it was forced into a major restructuring in October 2007. The Chiquita example holds many lessons for firms in the apple industry that might be seeking to establish a multinational brand in the future. One, when a company shares a brand name, any setback to one of its products can affect the entire company image. Two, large retailers may see the rise of a produce brand as a threat to their control of the produce aisle. Three, the more international the brand's footprint, the more challenges it must deal with simultaneously.

New Insights into Produce Promotions
This article shows how a new series introduced by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service will provide fruit market analysts with a rich new source of data on promotion and pricing for produce items. The National Fruit and Vegetable Retail Report includes weekly survey results from more than 200 retailers comprising roughly 17,000 individual stores. The article summarizes baseline data for the weeks ending October 11, 2007 to November 15, 2007. Articles in future issues will examine changes from this baseline during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

Special Statistics

Number of Stores with Ads for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, by Week, 2007 (table).
Number of Stores with Ads for Key Fruits and Vegetables, by Week, 2007 (table).
Weighted Average Advertised Prices for Key Fruits and Vegetables,
by Week, 2007 (table).
United States: Per Capita Consumption of Apples, by Form, 2002-2006 (table).
United States: Bearing Area of Apples, Pears and Sweet Cherries, 1991-2006 (chart).

The authoritative guide to the world apple business today.

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