S10 - Session O3 - The cooperative apple processing enterprise VOG Products as a model for minimizing harvest and postharvest crop losses – an empirical case study from South Tyrol, Italy

Authors: Christian Fischer *, Christoph Tappeiner

Background and objectives . Globally 22% of fruit and vegetables are lost on their way from the orchard to the distribution stage of the supply chain. In addition to lost nutrients, this creates environmental costs in terms of wasted land, water, inputs, labour and creates greenhouse gas emissions thus contributing to global warming. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (Target 12.3) call explicitly for reducing food loss along production and supply chains by 2030. This study aims at describing solutions for reducing crop losses at the harvest and postharvest stages of the apple supply chain. Materials and methods . We present an innovative enterprise which through its various processing and product development activities significantly reduces fruit losses in one of the world's biggest apple-producing areas (Alto Adige-Trentino, Italy). By describing the history, development and activities of the cooperative VOG Products, the impacts of organizational and technological innovations on the reduction of food losses are revealed. This economic analysis uses the case study method, i.e., an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular example within a real-world context. Data come from internal company accounts, regional statistical offices and academic studies. Main results . VOG Products processes 300,000 tonnes of apples each year n i.e., about 20% of the regional apple harvest. We show that through the processing of apples collected during harvest that do not fulfil fresh-fruit quality standards and of apples discarded from controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage, industry harvest losses are reduced to almost zero and postharvest losses by two-thirds, reducing the overall fruit loss rate to a few percent. Moreover, industry financial investments for achieving this large-scale reduction have been fully amortized n VOG Products is a profitable commercial enterprise that generates significant financial value for its farmer owners (about €40 million in annual pay-outs). The company also successfully implements circular economy measures and through new-product development sustainably leverages the commercial success of small-scale fruit growers. Perspectives . Food losses are not inevitable. Through organizational changes and technological investments, they can be significantly reduced. In addition, as this case study demonstrates empirically, food loss reduction activities can also generate economic rents thus representing a sustainable, triple-win situation for farmers, consumers and the environment. Others can learn from it.