One of France's leading stonefruit producer-marketers, Sica des Costieres d'Estagel, has been declared bankrupt, it has emerged.
The liquidation was confirmed in a letter from the company's legal representative, Bernard Roussel of Pole Delta Littoral.
The news follows what has been one of the most difficult French stonefruit campaigns on record, with figures published by French association Familles Rurales revealing that summer prices for fruits fell by an average of 19 per cent compared with the previous year.
Estagel, which markets and exports stonefruit such as apricots, peaches, nectarines and cherries, was established in 1977 by the Bois family, which has itself been involved in the fruit-growing business for more than a century.
The company markets a number of brands, including Estagel, Princesse and Mas Aubanel, to customers across France and abroad in markets such as the UK, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.
More recently, the group extended its production to include kiwifruit and apples, and expanded its operations to new production sites in Portugal.
According to the most recently published figures, Estagel employs around 150 permanent staff and markets a total of 15,000 tonnes of produce.
The company had an annual turnover of some €15m.
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