Number one in cider and cider in France with brands such as Loïc Raison, Écusson, Kericac, Viard, Bayeux and La Mordue, the Normandy cooperative Agrial collects 130,000 tonnes of apples per year from its 570 producer members for its fourteen sites, including two in the United States and three in Great Britain. But the health crisis has been there, hitting the industry hard. Agrial has therefore decided, in order to balance its market, to uproot the 450 hectares of its cider factory in the Duchy of Longueville (near Dieppe) closed at the end of 2022. An operation which began a few weeks ago despite protests from local elected officials and the Syndicate mixture of the Saâne, Vienne and Scie (SMBVV) watersheds.
“The Covid has been very damaging to us with the closure of bars and restaurants. From 800,000 hectoliters per year of beverages, we have gone to 650,000 hectoliters, justifies Jean-Luc Duval, farmer in Messei (Orne) and vice-president of Agrial, in charge of the upstream beverages branch. We are in a small market with a refreshing drink whose peak consumption is in January and February with Epiphany and Candlemas. We rather enjoy a good reputation but we are not present enough in people’s minds: consumers like cider, but buy little of it. It is a drink that lacks status with a slightly too agricultural image despite promotional actions. We have weak resources in the world of sparkling wine and beer. »
This is why out of the 4,500 hectares managed in France, the cooperative has decided to uproot those of Seine-Maritime: “Despite some positive signs, the market is struggling to restart. We decided to bet on a move upmarket rather than on volume. But there are too many apples compared to the need. Economically, this did not hold water for our producers. After the departure of our cultivation manager, the question arose of the management of the 450 hectares, including 130 hectares owned, where we were to become competitors of our members. So we decided to pull out, ”continues Jean-Luc Duval.
The machines therefore came into action: “The apple tree has few roots. Just lift the tree and cut the stump. The trunk and the branches are transformed into chips for heating. The stumps will not be burned. They will either remain on site to decompose and benefit biodiversity, or be crushed and recycled. We will see, ”explains Jean-Luc Duval. But the picture is far from being as idyllic around the Duchy of Longueville cider house. Very quickly, concerns were heard, mainly about the risks of erosion on the hilly parts, runoff and flooding as well as pollution and turbidity of the drinking water catchments of Bacqueville and Saint-Crespin.
“Nature is not a sanctuary, it evolves”
“Human beings are like that. When we decide to plant, he is worried because of the treatments. When we pull out, he is unhappy. I understand the reactions, the visual and economic shock that this causes, because the change is violent, reacts Jean-Luc Duval. But, at Agrial, we are not hoodlums. Nature is not a sanctuary, it evolves. The land will return to agriculture. Of the 130 hectares we own, the sloping ones will become meadows. The rest will go back to plowing. We already have a candidate building an installation case. He is a young Seinomarin who is going to settle down with his family. He knows what he has to do and he has a contract with an association which gives him technical advice. He will also see what he wants to do on the other 300 hectares that we have under contract. Anyway, we are in a period where everything is said and anything! I tell local elected officials that if we had a greater consumption of cider, the uprooting would not have taken place! The Normans should be more proud of their region and their products. In two or three years, serenity will return. »