The top-fruit harvest in Belgium has been revised upwards to the tune of 4.2 per cent as late summer conditions proved extremely favourable for both apples and pears.
“The summer offered exceptionally good growing conditions for top fruit,” said Leen Guffens of Vlam. “The typically damp Belgian summer has literally borne fruit and Belgian production was also spared any hail. The result is a harvest of very high quality and the keeping properties are therefore very high.”
Apples particularly have experienced greater volume, and although there are slightly fewer pears, fruit size is on the large side so that the total weight is still greater than forecast before the harvest in July.
Belgian growers are also shifting to Conference production in favour of apples Jonagold and Jonagored. “This shift is part of the evolution that has been visible now for some years and is a good response to the high demand for Conference,” said Guffens. “By making this switch, producers are also helping to reduce pressure on the international apple market.”
Conference production is now estimated at almost 200,000 tonnes compared to 161,950t of Jonagold.
Traditional apple variety Boskoop is also declining in production and is more than three per cent below average levels this season despite the upward trend among other lines. It is a similar story of Durondeau pears which are down by 12 per cent on average levels.
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