This year's European topfruit production forecast has been revealed at Prognosfruit 2009 in the Netherlands, with contrasting fortunes expected for apple and pears during the 2009/10 campaign.
According to figures announced by Philippe Binard of the World Apple and Pear Association, the EU apple forecast has been confirmed at just over 10.7m tonnes, down 7 per cent on last year but up 4 per cent on the three-year average.
Of the major producing nations, Polish production is expected to fall 19 per cent to 2.6m tonnes and Italian volumes are set to drop 2 per cent to 2.12m tonnes, with French production up 5 per cent to 1.6m tonnes and German volumes holding steady at 1.04m tonnes.
The total Northern Hemisphere apple crop is expected to drop 2 per cent this season, it was revealed.
European pear production, meanwhile, is set to increase 16 per cent this season to 2.52m tonnes, a 2 per cent increase on the three-year average.
The Netherlands (up 81 per cent to 311,000 tonnes) and Belgium (up 65 per cent to 281,000 tonnes) are expected to experience the largest increases, with Italy (up 8 per cent to 817,000 tonnes) and France (up 23 per cent to 193,000 tonnes) also looking at higher volumes. Production in Spain is expected to fall 10 per cent to 427,000 tonnes, however.
Prognosfruit 2009, which takes place between 6-8 August in Maastricht in the Netherlands, is a key event in the European topfruit industry's calendar.
