Despite episodes of frost suggesting an increase in the prices of fruit and vegetables, they fell by 8% on average according to the association Familles Rurales.
« The drop in prices is a bit of a surprise, with the cold snap, we thought that prices would soar « , wonders Dominique Marnier, president of the National Federation of Rural Families . Apart from certain fruits that are very sensitive to the frost in April, such as cherries and apricots, the average price of fruits and vegetables decreased by 8% between June 2020 and June 2021 according to the Fruit and Vegetable Price Observatory. each year by rural families.
The decrease is more marked for vegetables than for fruits, -11.5% against only -4%. Be careful, however, for the President of the Federation, we should rather speak of « price readjustment » compared to a year 2020 upset by the Covid-19 crisis: « When we talk about the fall in prices we compare with 2020 where the producers experienced significant labor and logistical problems ”.
For example, the average price of a kilo of peach has gone from 3.45 euros in 2020 to 2.94 euros in 2021 but without returning to 2.77 euros in 2019. Carrots, after having reached a peak from 1.86 euros in 2020, fall back below the 1.76 euros in 2019 and show an average price of 1.58 euros.
The melon suffers from bad weather and sees its price drop sharply
« There is a significant effect of the weather in the sale of fruit and vegetables » underlines the secretary general. The cool weather of recent weeks does not encourage consumers to buy seasonal products. This is the case of melon, the flagship fruit of the summer, the demand for which fell this summer and, in turn, its price, which fell by 21% between 2020 and 2021. « We are in a situation of overproduction of melon » , alert Daniel Sauvaitre. While moderate harvests and low sales are rarely a good sign for growers, they appear to be leveling out this year. « Fortunately this year the offer is not too large, if we had had good harvests we would not have known what to do with them », concludes the secretary general of INTERFEL.
On the ground, customers regret the soaring cherries
At the crossroads of rue de Lourmel and boulevard de Grenelle (Paris XVth), Hélène slaloms between the stalls to bring together the ingredients necessary for the preparation of a guacamole. « I was in the Cotentin, the prices are much lower, especially on the markets », notes this expatriate back in France. For this convinced vegetarian, the price of vegetables is important and she will closely monitor the evolution of prices in the months to come. « What shocked me the most is the price of the cherries » exclaims the future coach, who did not take any in her basket « but at least they are beautiful! She exclaims. Gabriel, a Parisian and a big consumer of cherries, has also noticed an explosion in prices. « This year, it does not go below € 9 per kilo while last year, we found less than € 6 » reports the young magistrate. At this early bird, cherries from Spain are sold at € 11.95. For French women, prices are soaring and approaching 20 € per kilo.
A little further on at a primeur on rue Saint-Charles, the findings are the same. “I did not notice any difference in the prices of fruits and vegetables except for the price of cherries. At 12 € 80 per kilo it’s no! »Exclaims Sylvie, a Parisian pharmacist. « What is working well at the moment are the yellow kiwis, thanks to the TV spots », reports Dominique, the manager. « The fruits have increased a little, especially stone fruits which have taken at least one euro per kilo », maintains the primeur. The gloomy weather also penalizes the sales of certain fruits, « we sell less melons and we sold 50% less watermelon than last year » he worries.