The Brazilian apple crop is this year expected to rebound to 1,132,826 tonnes – a 7.6 per cent increase on production in 2009, according to the latest figures from the Brazilian Apple Producers Association (ABPM).
“This forecast takes into consideration the bigger fruit sizes (due to the generous amount of rainfall this season) but not the effect of an accelerated ripening process (following warmer-than-normal temperatures) since we do not yet know the full impact,” ABPM chairman Pierre Pérès told Fruitnet.com.
“We’re very happy in terms of quality and quantity – the only issue is the rainfall, which has made harvesting more complicated,” added Roland Brandes, who heads up export-import group RBR Trading.
In total, Brazil is estimated to ship around 115,000 tonnes of apples during the course of 2010, in comparison to the 98,203 tonnes supplied last year, ABPM said.
Globally speaking, the export outlook is good, according to ABPM, although emerging markets are expected to perform better than Brazil’s traditional outlets across Europe.
“Europe isn’t looking so attractive this year due to the economic crisis,” explained Mr Pérès. “At the moment, demand is weak, prices are lower than in 2009 and there is a large stock of domestic apples still to sell.
“On the other hand, it seems there is a lot of interest from the Middle East and Asia, plus there are potential opportunities in Russia and developing options in the US.”
