The Chilean apple export campaign has got off to a slow start, with shipments to Europe (excluding the UK and Russia) to week 18 running 50 per cent below 2014 levels, according to iQonsulting.
Demand for new season Southern Hemisphere fruit has been hit by high European stocks, which according to figures from the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) were 6.5 per cent higher in April than in the same month last year.
Shipments from Argentina and Brazil are also down notably on last year. Until this week, the market for imported apples was relatively stable. In the Netherlands, prices for Gala apples were in the range of €20/kg, helped largely by the 37 per cent fall in shipments from Chile and 23 per cent drop in Argentine exports.
The decrease in sendings is even more marked in red varieties, exports of which have been in steady decline since 2009. To date this year some 1,328 tonnes have been shipped to Europe, 73 per cent less than in 2014 and 83 per cent down on 2013.
