Hailstorms in several parts of Europe have reportedly prompted industry officials to revise this year's fresh apple crop forecast downwards to around 10m tonnes.
According to a market report issued by Italian apple trade association Assomela, hail struck some areas of northern Europe particularly hard in the past few days and weeks, compounding previous losses in areas including Italy's South Tyrol region.
The initial pan-European forecast issued at the recent Prognosfruit meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, had suggested 10.2m tonnes as the continent's likely combined apple production for the 2011/12 season.
However, Assomela said a higher proportion of the expected volume of high-quality fruit would now be heading for the processing sector.
