The European stonefruit market is well balanced in terms of supply and demand and prices stable according to Catalan fruit association Afrucat. It said this year’s lower volume, combined with high quality, had resulted in a favourable start to the 2015 season.
Presenting the latest season forecasts in Lleida on Friday, Afrucat said Spanish peach and nectarine production would be around 2 per cent down on 2014, while volumes in Catalonia falling by 9 per cent on last year’s total. This was principally due to climatic factors during the spring and a lower incidence of pruning.
With Andalusia and Murcia now in the final stages of their season, the association reported a smooth transition to northern production areas. Harvesting of Spain’s star nectarine variety, BigTop, is due to get underway next week.
The forecasts for other countries show a 12 per cent fall in French production, which is projected to reach 205,000 tonnes, while Greek output is set to drop 26 per cent to 545,000 tonnes due to spring frosts resulting poor fruitset. Italy, however, will see a 2 per cent rise in production.
Overall European peach and nectarine volumes will be 6 per cent lower than in 2014, and 4 per cent down on the five-year average.
