Following a survey of some 150 fruit companies conducted by the ministry of agriculture, Belgium is expecting a normal apple and pear harvest this year, FreshPlaza has reported.
Although apple volumes are forecast to be down by 8 per cent at 335,000 tonnes, the pear crop, which suffered severely from poor weather in 2008, is expected to increase to 280,000 tonnes, up by 65 per cent, FreshPlaza continued.
Marc Evrard, of Belgian topfruit producer Comaan and the Belgische Fruitveiling auction, says that the pear harvest is indeed expected to be far larger than in 2008 due in part to new tree plantings. However, he warns that recent hailstorms make any such predictions risky.
“There have been some severe hailstorms in some regions over the last few days, which may have affected production volumes,” he tells Fruitnet.com. “However, it is difficult to say by how much at this moment.”
