Passing under the symbolic bar of the billion liters sold in 2024 (989 million), fruit juices accused a drop of 8.9 % in one year. At 20 % over five years, and 28 % over ten years, the fall qualified as “Vertiginous” By Unijus, the interprofessional union of fruit juices in France. According to her secretary general, Aurore Bescond, the orange juice crisis – whose price has been sealed for five years by production falls linked to pests and climatic hazards in Florida and Brazil – does not explain everything.
“The consumer turns to other drinks, such as sodas and energy drinks, or to drinks to fruit taste but which contain less than 10 %regrets the manager. He only has in mind only fruit juice, beyond his sugar naturally present, without addition, has an interesting nutritional value. This confusion is very problematic. »» It cites the intake of vitamins, potassium and soluble fibers, with pure juices “100 % fruit composed”.
“Disboundary reading under the prism of sugar”
Unijus, whose thirty manufacturers weighs 60 % of the market, judges the state largely at fault for this poor advertising, for having excluded fruit juices from the recommendations of the National Nutrition Health 2019-2023 (the famous five fruits and vegetables per day). Classified C in the Nutri-Score, they find themselves stored among other levels of level E, such as sodas, in the face of the risks linked to their almost similar content (overweight, cardiovascular diseases …).
“It is a referral error, a demonizing reading under the only prism of sugardeplores Aurore Bescond. Especially since our juices, 60 % taken at breakfast, are very little overconsial. »» In the 2025-2030 program, under discussion, Unijus militates for “The creation of a category of natural nutritional drinks, which no longer assimilates juices with empty calorie drinks”.
“The advantage will always be in the fruit”
A position “Difficult to defend”according to David Jacobi, doctor and nutrition teacher at the Nantes University Hospital. “There is no problem consuming juice punctually, and Nutri-Score already distinguishes its relative advantage compared to soda. But in a balanced diet, the advantage will always be in the fruit itself in front of the juice, which contains much less fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, especially if the pulp is not preserved. »»
The problem of sugar cannot be swept, continues the specialist: “A small glass of 10 cl of orange juice is the equivalent of two pieces of sugar . If you drink five to quench your thirst, you have already reached the recommended limit per day, knowing that the French already tend to have a breakfast too sweet. »»
A price for sharp rise
There remains the question of the price of juices, which jumped 28 % in two years. “Yes, juices remain an agricultural product subject to climatic vagaries, but they remain four times cheaper than homemade juices”retorts Aurore Bescond, who also attacks the responsibility of the distributors, with “A continuous reduction in linear” in supermarkets.
The representative of Unijus defends the safeguard of a sector which weighs 5,000 direct and 23,000 indirect jobs, with production from “80 % imported fruit”more than “90 % French manufacturing”. In decline of 4 % over a year, its turnover went under the two billion euros. In 2024, orange juice remained at the top of sales (35.9 %of the market, compared to 39 %a year earlier), ahead of the multifruit (21.6 %), followed by apple juice (16.5 %) and bifruits (6.8 %).
