FAQ - Production Fruit, Vegetables, Potatoes

All companies that have concluded a direct agreement (wholesale, preparation and processing) with QS and whose scheme participation is not organized through a coordinator pay their fee plus the applicable statutory value-added tax at the beginning of each contract year.
Companies and businesses at the production and logistics stages, as well as food retail markets, settle their QS scheme participation via their coordinator or, in the case of logistics, via the certification body. In these cases, the QS fee is included in a total invoice from the coordinator, which may also include other services provided, such as certification. QS has no influence on the coordinator's cost calculation for the scheme participant.
The QS scale of fees applicable from January 1, 2026 in the fruit, vegetables, and potatoes supply chain can be found here.

The fees for scheme participation are based on the level at which the QS scheme participant operates. The QS scale of fees distinguishes between production, wholesale, processing, logistics, and food retail. The wholesale and processing stages are further differentiated into first-line merchants, i.e. companies that receive the goods directly from the producer, and trading partners.
A flat annual fee applies to all scheme participants, with the exception of first-line merchants. The fee for first-line merchants is based on the company's total turnover. The respective amount is based on a 7-level turnover table. It is irrelevant how much turnover the company generates with QS products.

The eligibility of delivery can be checked on the QS website. To do this, go to www.qs-plattform.de/QSSoftware/start and click Search: Agriculture/Production. There you can enter your QS-ID or your QS location number and click the button Search. If your company is eligible to deliver, it appears with the corresponding production scope (e.g. outdoor vegetable production) or the approved crops and the registered certification system (e.g. QS-GAP). The name and address of your company will not be displayed.

As a producer you will participate automatically in the QS residue monitoring through your coordinator. He organises sampling, which can take place either on the horticultural location in the presence of or with the agreement of the manager or, in the case of delivery to the market, after delivery to the buyer (e.g. wholesaler, producer organisation). A sampling by the producer himself or employees is not permitted. The samples must always be taken from fruit, vegetables and potatoes that are ready for harvest and respectively sale. The coordinator also ensures that the data are entered into the QS database.

Participating in the residue monitoring is regardless of whether you participate via a QS audit or an approved audit (e.g. GlobalG.A.P.) in the QS scheme.

You participate in the QS scheme via a so-called coordinator. These are for example producer organizations, agencies or consulting companies. You will find a list of all coordinators here.

You can choose between being audited against the QS production standard or the QS-GAP standard. With a QS-GAP audit you concurrently meet the GlobalG.A.P. requirements. Due to mutual recognitions with other standards, participating in the QS scheme is also possible with a GlobalG.A.P., Vegaplan- or AMAG.A.P.-certification.

• Basic fee: previously €15.00 per producer location per year; from 2026: no change

Additional

• For QS-GAP-certified producers: GLOBALG.A.P. registration and participation fee: previously borne solely by OS / from 2026: €15.00 per production site

• For production companies with recognized certificate: previously no fee / from 2026: recognition fee of €15.00 per production site

In addition, the participating company may incur further costs for certification, residue monitoring, and fees charged by the coordinator for bundled companies. However, these fees are not charged by QS.

QS-GAP certified producers must pay fees to GLOBALG.A.P for registration in the GLOBALG.A.P database and participation in the GLOBALG.A.P system. QS has paid these fees for its scheme participants and borne the full cost. However, as GLOBALG.A.P. has now significantly increased these fees, QS is no longer able to bear them. QS must therefore pass on the fees payable to GLOBALG.A.P to the bundled QS-GAP certified production companies via their coordinators, in line with the principle of causality –QS does not charge any surcharge on top of the GLOBAL.G.A.P. fee.

The fee covers the system scheme participant's registration in the QS database and all services provided directly by the QS scheme. This also includes the right to use the QS certification mark in accordance with the General Regulations and the Style Guide (for the QS certification mark). The fee also entitles scheme participants to additional programs such as QS-FIAS and QS-FIN and the option of combined audits with McDonald's and Chain of Custody free of charge.

For QS-GAP certified production companies, the fees for scheme participation also include the registration fee for the GLOBALG.A.P database and the participation fee for the GLOBALG.A.P system.

The requirements for sampling are described in the Guideline Residue Monitoring (chapter 5). At the production stage, it is particularly important that sampling is organised by the coordinator. Sampling by the producer himself, an employee of the producer or a third person/organisation commissioned by the producer is not permitted.

For the producers/location that need to be sampled, the coordinator will be notified by sampling requests in the QS database. Within one year the sampling and analysis for the selected producer must be carried out according to the QS standards. The respective product of sampling needs to be selected from the certified products of the producer’s location and according to the risk group of the control plan.