The European apple market has come under enormous pressure over the past month as a combination of larger domestic stocks and a fall in consumer spending has created a much larger backlog of fruit compared with the same time last year.
Adverse movement in the exchange rates of a number of currencies against the euro – for example in the UK – and the general weakening of economic performance in major markets like Russia and the rest of eastern Europe have also exacerbated the situation, with a number of marketers and importers describing the situation as one of the worst seen for some years.
'It's looking almost inevitable that we will see an overhang of imported apples as we head into the start of the next European season,' commented Frédéric Rosseneu, policy advisor at the World Apple and Pear Association.
As of 1 April, apple stocks in the European Union stood at just under 1.6m tonnes, around 24 per cent higher than at the same point in 2008.
This rise has been attributed in part to the recovery of production in eastern European countries such as Poland. Across the EU, stocks of Idared were reportedly 131 per cent higher year-on-year at the start of April, while Golden Delicious, Jonagold / Jonagored and Red Delicious were understood to be 19 per cent, 14 per cent and 55 per cent larger respectively compared with 2008.
The slowdown in sales in Russia has had a major impact on the market, according to Bert Wilschut, product manager for apples and pears at Dutch company The Greenery. 'We've seen a significant reduction in the amount of apples being bought by Russian companies and, combined with a much bigger eastern European crop, this is leaving Europe with a lot more to sell before the end of the season,' he told Fruitnet.com. ' The situation is pretty disastrous.'
