In Spain, the apple and pear committee of fresh produce industry body Fepex has forecast year-on-year production growth for both topfruit categories this season.
Following a committee meeting in Lleida on 27 August, Fepex revealed that it was predicting 11 per cent growth in apple volumes and 10 per cent growth in pear volumes for the campaign.
Spain's pear numbers are set to rise to 390,000 tonnes, higher than last year but down on the five-year average, from an overall EU total of 2.2m tonnes.
The country's apple volumes, meanwhile, are pegged to come in at 434,000 tonnes, out of an EU total of 10.8m tonnes.
Meanwhile, the topfruit committee said that it had recommended, as a priority, that the country enters into negotiations with potential new export markets such as the US, Mexico and India.
