As the harvesting of late varieties comes to an end, the French National Association for Apples & Pears (ANPP) last week gave its verdict on this season's French harvest, according to Végétable.
The ANPP said that French production had increased by eight per cent compared with last season, to around 1.7m tonnes, while sizes should be large, with good colour and Brix rates.
'Despite the earliness, the volumes flowing onto the French market are identical to 2010,' the association said. 'If some stations are experiencing substantial activity on the market it is almost entirely due to promotional discounts.'
And it is price that remains the main fear among growers. 'We are currently in the range of €0.31-€0.32 per kilogram, compared with €0.34-€0.35 in 2010,' said Daniel Sauvaitre, chairman of the ANPP. 'This season will be more difficult than the previous one, and that makes three or four years that we have been suffering.'
However, Sauvaitre added that, despite lower than hoped for prices, it was no catastrophe, especially compared with 2009 when average prices fell to €0.30 per kilogram.
