Denmark, Sweden and Finland voiced concerns over what could be formally called cider and perry under EU standardisation plans.
The EU has not yet developed an official definition of cider. At the same time, each country, producer and consumer has its own criteria for defining what they call cider or perry.
The European Commission now wants to introduce common marketing standards similar to the “breakfast directives,” which have defined rules for juices, milk, jams and honey. Developing a common definition for cider, however, could prove much more challenging.
The Commission’s proposed regulations, released in December, would require a minimum apple or pear juice content of at least 50 per cent for cider and perry respectively. The new rules could put an end to the production of cider with only 15 per cent juice content, despite the popularity of beverages.
The three countries warned the Commission’s director general for agriculture, Wolfgang Burtscher, in a letter that the current proposal could stifle the growth of Nordic producers. The proposed standard could also discourage further development in the beverage sector, they added.
Sweden exports 75 per cent of its annual cider production, a third of all cider exports to the EU. Meanwhile, Denmark’s exports have risen sharply from 17 million to 27 million litres between 2020 and 2023.
As an alternative, countries are proposing to introduce two terms for cider: general and “traditional,” with a higher juice content.
