fresh tomatoes in germany 0

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Source: CBI Market Information Database • URL: www.cbi.eu • Contact: marketinfo@cbi.eu • www.cbi.eu/disclaimer

Germany

If you want to export tomatoes to Germany, you

should adapt to the trends regarding the

preferences of German consumers Also, take

into account that the buyer requirements in

Germany are very strict Read this fact sheet and

determine if you are ready to compete with EU

producers.

Content:

1 Market size

2 Market trends and developments

3 Opportunities in the trade & distribution channel

4 Prices - segments and developments

5 Long term prospects

Annex: Buyer requirements

SWOT analysis for exporters from Armenia, Georgia and Moldova

Strength

 Low labour costs compared to EU suppliers

 Moldova is exempted from import tariffs

Weakness

 Coinciding harvesting season with EU

 Armenian and Georgian need to pay

import tariffs

 Buyers not familiar with products from

your country

Opportunity

 Increased focus on price that favours low-cost suppliers

 Stable, increasing consumption rate

 Growing market share of tomatoes with

a sustainability label

Threat

 Strict food safety requirements

 Share of non-EU countries is very small on

the German market

Market size

Consumption:

Consumption of tomatoes in Germany was 651 thousand tones in 2009 Consumption has increased by 1.2% since 2005

Import: the share of low income countries is small, but growing rapidly

In 2010, imports of tomatoes accounted for 712 thousand tonnes, or € 1.0 billion in value Germany is the largest importer in the EU accounting for 31% of total imported value

1 For this fact sheet we used the statistics of HS code 2011: 07020000 (Tomatoes, Fresh Or Chilled) There is no change in the HS code for 2012 for tomatoes

Imports increased by 4.1% per year between 2006 and 2010 In comparison, EU imports decreased by 4.4%

Marginal share of import from developing countries

In 2010, Germany imported 2.3 thousand tonnes of

tomatoes from low-income countries or € 3.0 million (a

share of 0.8% of all imports from low-income countries

to the EU) This makes Germany the 13th largest importer

from low-income countries in value in the EU, after a

steep increase of 34% each year on average Armenia,

Georgia and Moldavia are not recorded to export to

Germany

EU competition barrier for imports

Tomatoes are grown in the EU year round (due to the

greenhouses) There is huge production in Germany and most tomatoes are imported from within the EU The parallel growing seasons with EU producers are a major challenge for Armenia, Georgia and Moldova

CBI’s projection for the future: with German GDP expected to grow by only 0.8% in 2012

and 1.5% in 2013 (European Commission, autumn 2011) the pressure on demand and imports is expected to continue If exporters from Armenia, Georgia and Moldova do not make significant efforts to change existing practices to acquire the necessary buyer requirements to enter the German market they will stay behind

2 Market trends and developments

Increasing part for developing countries in global trade

There is a growing importance of low income countries in world trade This is the result of a wider use of containerized or express cargo and the growing importance of online purchasing The extra accent that is put on prices may very well accelerate the opportunity for low-cost suppliers such as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova

German consumer’s demand high quality and convenience

The quality, size and taste of your tomatoes should be homogeneous

Due to changing lifestyles there is an increasing trend towards convenience food For example, added value single-person packets of about four tomatoes

Tomatoes may be classified into four commercial types, depending on colour, shape, weight, size and cultivation method:

o Round (spherical) tomatoes: these are the most widely used, round, smooth, generally red tomatoes intended for fresh consumption

o Beef tomatoes: these are larger than round tomatoes and, some varieties, because of their shape are sometimes called ribbed tomatoes

o Cherry tomatoes: the name points to the similarity in shape and size to cherries Small plum or grape shaped tomatoes are also available

o Plum tomatoes: a thick-fleshed variety, low in seeds, used both for fresh consumption and processing

Any or all of these tomato types may be sold loose as individual fruits, as clusters on vines, or pre-packed into retail sized packages

After the USA, Germany is the most important market for organic products in the world (IFOAM, 2011) The national organic label of Germany is called ‘Bio’

Conventional retailers in Germany are the largest distribution channel for organic products

Table 2

EU production of tomatoes (1,000 tonnes) (Source: FAOStat, 2012)

Netherlands 815

Lithuania 2.5

Without food safety labels like GlobalGAP (primary production) market entry is nearly impossible Armenian, Georgian and Moldavian producers often use the Russian management system GOST

German buyers are generally only interested in tomatoes of high quality: Extra Class and Class I

Considerations for actions

Make absolutely sure you comply with the food quality and safety standards that apply

in Germany (see Annex) If you can not comply, don’t enter this market Contact international operating certification bodies that certify GlobalGAP as well as GOST to find out more on how to comply Examples are SGS (http://www.sgs.com) and DIN GOST TÜV (http://www.din-gost.de)

In case your tomatoes are of lesser quality than Class 1: try to supply to the processing sector as they take lower class tomatoes

Contact your potential buyer prior to your investment in sustainable products See the checklist for importers to check whether you meet organic requirements:

http://www.bio-siegel.de/english/users-products/checklist-for-importers

See the Annex at the end of this document for more information on buyer

requirements

Box 1 How to acquire a health control label - example: GlobalGAP

1 Check the standards: http://www.globalgap.org

2 If you want your products to be certified, your compliance has to be inspected by an independent and approved body GlobalGAP Certification Bodies include: AB Cert, EUROCERT, ICM, Lloyds Register QA and SGS AgroControl More accredited bodies can be found on the GlobalGAP website

3 Make investments Although the GlobalGAP-certification is demanded by EU retailers, the costs of compliance are at your expense as an exporter or producer

4 Note that for small producers, GlobalGAP developed a smallholder guide on plant protection modules:

http://www.globalgap.org/cms/upload/Documents/QMS_Manual-Final-1.pdf

3 Opportunities in the trade and distribution channel

Find below an overview of the distribution chain of tomatoes to Germany and some tips to make the most of exporting to this market

Opportunities with…

As Table 2 shows Germany is a

large producer of tomatoes

Monitor price quotations of your

most important competitors, to

keep a competitive market

position The overwhelming

majority of tomato imports into

Germany are from other EU

countries (Intra-EU imports),

with only small volumes coming

from outside of the EU (extra-EU

imports) The EU is able to

provide all year round supply due

to the greenhouses in the

Netherlands

Tap into the opportunities

of Germany as a transport hub Germany is also a European trader of tomatoes and re-exports some of the imported volume to other EU countries

Opportunities with buyers will mostly be with importers, importing processors or agents

as you will generally not supply retailers directly Important German importers are:

o Univeg Deutschland (former Atlanta) -

http://www.univeg.de

o Cobana Fruchtring GmbH -

http://www.cobana-fruchtring.com/en/products /tomatoes

o OGL Food Trade Lebensmittelvertrieb GmbH

- http://www.ogl-foodtrade.com

4 Prices - segments and developments

The driver of profitability for tomatoes is scale

Margins are tight, so either a scale or a premium play (increasingly difficult) is important to survive in this business This is, for the most part, a commodity industry where scale is the driver Small producer countries such as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova will have difficulty competing

China’s producer prices of tomatoes are well beneath production price level in the EU This oversupply caused the price of tomato paste per tonne set by cooperatives to be reduced from € 72.00 to just € 35 00 Buyers are now looking for cheaper alternatives

Box 2 How to find German buyers?

associations and databases (see useful sources) To get into contact with them you can visit specialised trade fairs or contact them via phone or email

approach is looking for tomatoes and preferably is already active in your country or region This will make it easier for him to personally inspect your facilities By browsing their website you will learn a lot about the company

suppliers from your region They want to know more about your company and your

country regarding varieties, quality, price, supply seasons, delivery times and health and safety control

4 Adapt to the German business culture: in contrast to other European countries it is

generally not necessary to establish a close personal relationship before doing business They do expect that you deliver what you have promised More information

on German business culture: Kwint Essential ( http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/germany-country-profile.html)

Information on tariff and price regulations is vital to

make a convincing offer

Moldova has a free trade agreement with the EU and therefore does not pay import tariffs at all This makes it possible to compete with EU producers directly For Armenia and Georgia import tariffs are 14.4% during EU growing season making it harder to compete in times of abundant supply In the future further economic integration might lead to a free trade agreement but this will take time

The Entry Price (EP) for tomatoes determined by the EU can be found in table 2 If your

EP is lower than this price you will have to pay an additional duty

Considerations for actions

Use the EU Export Helpdesk (http://exporthelp.europa.eu) to determine the import tariffs and entry price Use this price in your offer to potential buyers (see Action Plan

in Box 2)

Closely monitor for bad harvests in EU producing countries A shortage will force importers to buy outside the EU despite the higher price

In case you are not able to compete on price with EU producers than you may want to focus on countries with which your country has a regional trade agreement such as other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan Armenia, Georgia and Moldova are also part of this region

Box 3 How to determine your market price?

1 To determine a reasonable market price at the moment you want to sell, do your own market research first You can do this by quoting your prices to potential importers After, you can compare their reactions Also, websites such as CIRAD and Freshplaza show European prices for fruits and vegetables

2 For higher volumes, the price is usually less per product compared to those sold in small volumes This does not mean you should not sell in small quantities

Sometimes a buyer will want to buy more quantity of your harvest if the cooperation has been positive (a pallet of 600-700 kilos is the minimum to transport to the EU)

3 Make sure to include the Incoterm (the terms on which you agree with your buyer who pays fro transport and insurance; see

http://www.iccwbo.org/Incoterms/index.html?id=40772 ) and whether you are

sending a firm offer or a quotation

4 In some cases it is convenient to enclose a period of validity in your offer, especially when the market price is highly fluctuating

5 Long-term prospects

Future prospects may favour the importance of low-income countries in global fruit trade Within the next five to ten years, CBI expects that:

Arable land will become scarcer while world population grows and therefore the pressure on prices and margins will relax Michael Porter has written a visionary article about it: ‘Creating shared value’ See http://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value/ar/1

Internationalisation of large companies will increase This means that many (EU-) firms will have their own production sites in low-income countries from where they export into their home countries

Table 2 Import tarifs for tomatoes

Price Ad valorem tax

€ 84.60 or more 8.8%

€ 82.90 - 84.60 8.8% + € 1.70/100 kg

€ 81.20 - 82.90 8.8% + € 3.40 /100 kg

€ 79.50 - 81.20 8.8% + € 5.10 /100 kg

€ 77.80 - 79.50 8.8% + € 6.80 /100 kg

€ 0.00 - 77.80 8.8% + € 29.80 /100 kg

As emerging countries gain voting power in the WTO, the EU’s trade agreements regarding agricultural products will likely involve less trade barriers for countries outside the EU

Considerations for actions

Monitor closely whether changes are made in agreements between your country and the EU These are advertised on this website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/eu-and-wto

Consider partnerships with German companies looking to invest across their borders

Useful sources

ZMP - http://www.zmp.de - publishes an annual balance of the German and European markets for fresh fruit and vegetables, including producers, import and consumer prices;

Förderverein GFI Deutsche Grossmärkte - http://www.grossmaerkte.de - Association of German wholesale markets;

Wer Liefert Was - http://www.wlw.de - supplier search in business to business; Fruit Logistica - http://www.fruitlogistica.com - largest European trade fair of fruit and vegetables, with much attention to products from DC Held every February in Berlin;

Biofach - http://www.biofach.de - trade fair for organic products;

Grüne Woche - http://www.gruenewoche.com - international exhibition for the food, agriculture and gardening industry;

Fruchthandel Magazine - http://www.fruchthandel.de - leading German-language weekly magazine on the international trade of fresh fruit and vegetables;

DFHV - http://www.dfhv.de - German fruit trade association

This survey was compiled for CBI by CREM B.V

Disclaimer CBI market information tools: http://www.cbi.eu/disclaimer

Annex: Buyer requirements

Germany follows EU legislation regarding the

marketing of tomatoes and has not set any

additional requirements

See the CBI’s module ‘Compliance with

buyer requirements for vegetables’ for more information

German supermarkets have much stronger requirements on reduced MRLs than exist in any other country

GlobalGAP and/or IFS or Q&S certification is essential, especially when supplying large retail chains

The EU, thus Germany, has committed to the

Tomato Standard of the Codex Alimentarius

Refer to the website

(http://www.codexalimentarius.net/search/adv

anced.do?lang=en) and type ‘tomatoes’ as a

search word in ‘Text in Title’

There are three quality classes: Extra class, Class

I and Class II For example for Class I tomatoes

the following criteria apply:

They must be free of cracks and visible greenback

The following slight defects, however, may be allowed, a slight defect in shape and development, colouring; slight skin defects and very slight bruises



Retailers mostly take Class I tomatoes

Class II tomatoes are sold mostly to the

processing industry

Tomatoes shall be packed in each container in compliance with the Recommended International Code of Practice for Packaging and Transport of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (CAC/RCP 44-1995) Refer

to the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/CDfruits_en/others/do cs/CAC-RCP44-1995.PDF) The standards include: Tomatoes must be packed in such a way as to protect the produce properly

The materials used inside the package must be new, clean, and of a quality such as to avoid causing any external or internal damage to the produce

The use of materials, particularly of paper or stamps bearing trade specifications is allowed, provided the printing or labelling has been done with non-toxic ink or glue

Tomatoes are packed in open and closed fruit cartons and trays, and sometimes packed into retail size plastic or fibreboard boxes (also known as punnets or clamshells)