Apple and pear production in the European Union will be “significantly lower” than last year and, as reported by Eurofruit last month, the forecast apple crop is set to fall below the 10m-tonne mark for only the third time in a decade.
Publishing the forecasts, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) said apple volumes would decrease by 9 per cent against the previous year’s figure to 9.74m tonnes, while it estimated the pear crop would be around 2.06m tonnes – 22 per cent lower compared with 2011 and the lowest forecast figure since 1997.
Elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, apple crops are also expected to decrease compared with last year, with a 3 per cent estimated downturn in Turkey and lower output too in the Balkan countries. Russia and Ukraine’s crops, meanwhile, are forecast to increase by 8 per cent and 4 per cent respectively due to new bearing trees. Official data for the US is due to be released in mid-August, but initial indications are that the country’s apple crop will be 15 per cent smaller due to heavy frost in the Midwest region and, to a lesser extent, in the north-east.
Elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, pear crops are also going to be down compared with last year, notably in the US (-7 per cent) and Ukraine (-8 per cent).
Source: www.fruitnet.com