According to data released by the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA), European apple stocks at the start of June this year stood at 644,000 tonnes, some 2.8 per cent lower than at the same point last year.
Combined apple stocks across the continent were 662,361 at the beginning of June 2009.
Pear stocks, meanwhile, were reported to be around 38,000 tonnes on 1 June 2010, almost double the equivalent figure for 2009.
According to the figures, leading European producer Italy had a total of 197,000 tonnes in storage, 12.7 per cent down on the year-earlier figure, while all Italian pear stocks have now been cleared.
In particular, European has seen a marked downturn in the volume of Golden Delicious remaining in storage this summer, with a 13.9 per cent fall in stored fruit to 294,500 tonnes.
Of that volume, 150,800 tonnes of Italian Golden Delicious were in storage, 20.2 per cent less than on 1 June 2009.
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