Stonefruit growers in Italy, Spain and France are forecasting a sharp fall in volumes this season as a result of frosts that hit production zones earlier this year.
Representatives of the stonefruit sector in Spain, Italy and France, who met in Bologna this week as part of a tri-nation contact group, have revised their overall crop forecast for nectarines and peaches down for 2010 season, from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.
In a statement, the Spanish-French-Italian contact group said it had reduced its forecast for the countries’ peach and nectarine campaigns, from initial expectations announced earlier this year at Europêch, as a result of the weather-related problems.
In Italy, the group said volumes were expected to drop by 7 per cent, from an initial forecast 2 per cent decline, due to frost damage in the country’s Emilia Romagna region.
The overall crop is forecast to fall by 8 per cent in France compared with the previous campaign, while the group also predicted an 11 per cent drop in Greece, particularly in the region of Macedonia, again as a result of frosts.
For Europe as a whole, the contact group said it had reduced its total forecast crop decrease from an initial 3 per cent to 7 per cent, with peach and nectarine volumes expected to reach 1.36m tonnes and 1.44m tonnes respectively.
In terms of peach production across Europe, Italy is now expected to produce 701,460 tonnes, Spanish volumes should total 301,453 tonnes, French production is forecast at 173,149 tonnes and Greek output should reach 191,600 tonnes.
Italy will also continue to be Europe’s leading nectarine producer, with a forecast 776,080 tonnes, followed by Spain with 421,672 tonnes, France with 168,430 tonnes and Greece with 78,200 tonnes.
The Spanish delegation at the Bologna meeting, which was represented by national fresh produce federation Fepex, said Europe’s stonefruit campaign was facing a production volume “significantly lower” than the initial forecast, adding that this reduction would continue to a lesser degree until the end of the season.
