2023-06-02 08:40:34
The decision to introduce this new format, announced this winter by the Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec, was taken to maintain a selling price affordable
for consumers.
ml will allow us to display a more attractive price”,”text”:”The 750ml will allow us to display a more attractive price””>The 750 ml will allow us to display a more attractive price
says strawberry producer Guy Pouliot, who also speaks on behalf of his association.
Consumers will thus have the choice between this reduced format, but sold at the price per liter last year (or even more expensive), a container twice as large (1.5 l) or even a family format of 2 or 3 pounds, depending on the location.
« However, the liter is not disappearing from the market. There remains a panoply of formats and the 750 ml is only an addition to our range of tools. »
Consumer choice
The decision is up to retailers to determine which formats they offer their customers.
Métro, Super C and IGA have, for example, decided to opt for the 750 ml format, while Maxi and Provigo intend to maintain the 1 liter container instead. Walmart will continue to market its 454-gram container, though Adonis had yet to make a decision at press time.
Together, the grocery stores sell up to 95% of Quebec’s strawberry production. All formats will also be available directly from producers and in public markets across the province.
The new 750 ml retail format for Quebec strawberries is hitting shelves as food inflation has peaked this year.
The reality is that strawberries, if made expensive, maybe I like having access to a format that I still find reasonable to afford
tempers Maurice Doyon, director of the Department of Agrifood Economics and Consumer Sciences at Laval University.
The Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec also believes that its new format will meet the needs of single people and prevent waste.
But at what cost?
However, it is difficult to know exactly how much strawberries will sell for this year.
From one year to another, the price is not the same. It’s moving, says agricultural economist Maurice Doyon, citing supply and demand. It’s more expensive at the beginning of the season, and less expensive towards the end.
Quebec strawberries are usually available from the beginning of June until October.
Mother Nature also has a say, recalls producer Guy Pouliot.
If it’s cool, I have less fruit, less supply, and the price goes up, he says. If the weather is very nice, it’s the opposite, there are too many strawberries
and they end up being sold almost at a loss.
In any case, Guy Pouliot certainly hopes to sell his strawberries at a higher price this year.
We will try to sell more expensive because everything costs us more
he explains, citing in particular the increase in the minimum wage among all his expenses.
$ more than last year, he continues. And here, I’m not talking about gasoline, plastic, seedlings and fertilizers, which have all also increased.”,”text”:”I need employees. And they all cost me $1 more than last year, he continues. And here, I’m not talking about gasoline, plastic, seedlings and fertilizers, which have all also increased.””>I need employees. And they all cost me $1 more than last year,” he continues. And here, I’m not talking about gasoline, plastic, seedlings and fertilizers, which have all also increased.
« It is an illusion to believe that fruit will sell at the same price as in 1972. It has to increase, because the cost of living is rising. »
Both sellers and food processors try to minimize the impact on consumers, continues Maurice Doyon. And one of the ways to do this is to reduce the quantities.
Typically, examples of reduflation are limited to processed products, where it is easier to reduce sizes. Fresh products, whether fruit and vegetables or meat, are sold most of the time by unit or by weight.
Failing to go so far as to sell half a cauliflower or a celery, their price increases until the play of supply and demand ends up rebalancing them.
According to agricultural economist Maurice Doyon, the only way to redflate with fresh produce is when it is sold in a package, as is the case with strawberries.
A format that divides
Some producers would have preferred to stick to the 1 liter format, but it would simply sell for more.
Except that, for producer Guy Pouliot, the decision to buy a basket of strawberries at the grocery store is made in a fraction of a second by the consumer, and it’s the price that counts
.
According to him, the abundance of choices at the grocery store is also hurting his industry.
The higher the price, the fewer strawberries will be sold. Because next you can buy blueberries, kiwis or bananas. It’s competition
he summarizes.
A point of view also shared by Maurice Doyon.
The price of American strawberries greatly influences the price of our strawberries, he says. They must remain competitive.
« The ability to source banners abroad is very high year-round. They might never sell strawberries from Quebec and do just fine. »
I think we accept that strawberries from Quebec are slightly more expensive than American strawberries, because of the local purchase and because the taste is not the same
he continues, saying that they are better.
Producer Guy Pouliot denounces this competition with foreign countries as a double standard.
In Quebec, we have some of the most demanding environmental and social standards
he says, far from the reality of the United States or Mexico, for example.
« Here, we produce according to the conditions imposed on us, but we let in products from elsewhere without checking under what social and environmental conditions it was done. And we are asked to compete with that. »
ml, but in reality, the problem is why we got there. Our production costs are rising and we let foreigners come in without even checking how it’s done there”,”text”:”We’re fixated on the 750ml container, but in reality, the problem is why we got here. Our production costs are increasing and we let foreigners come in without even checking how it’s done there””>We fixated on the 750 ml container, but in reality, the problem is why we got there. Our production costs are rising and we let foreigners come in without even checking how it’s done there.
concludes the producer.
It remains to be seen whether Quebec strawberry lovers will be there.
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