British apples could be in line for a 'very early season' this year.
That's according to the chief executive of English Apples and Pears, Adrian Barlow, who told FPJ that it could be up to three weeks earlier than last year, 'irrespective' of the weather between now and then.
Barlow said that this scenario has been helped by the fact that there have been no real issues with frosts for growers, with temperatures in recent months not being as low as forecast, and also because there has been a 'strong run of fruit in most orchards.'
Despite this, Barlow noted: 'There are concerns about the damage caused by rain, with a number of orchards having been under water, and this has manifested itself in above-average incidents of disease on trees, and a lot of scab being reported.'
Last year, the crop was almost three weeks later than hoped for due to the cold spring and early summer, which reduced the quantity of apples as well as their size.
The total crop of eating apples in 2013 was 115,000 tonnes - 32 per cent higher than in 2012, and similar to the crop in 2011.
This year, Barlow said, the UK can probably anticipate a reasonably-sized 'if not massive' apple crop. He added: 'I would be very disappointed if we had a crop that was anything less than five per cent larger than last year.
'The skin finish of the apples should be good too, and dependent on the sun we get to develop the sugars, the eating quality should also be good.'
Barlow is hopeful that an early harvest will avoid a repeat of last year's difficulties, where the late delivery of British apples to shop shelves cost the fruit its primetime selling slot during late September and early October.
Sales were also depressed before Christmas 2013, and although Barlow admitted there was no concrete reason for this, he suggested that the lateness of English apples to the market could have been responsible as it resulted in shelf space being lost to stonefruit and grapes at leading UK retailers.
Barlow concluded: 'It's hard to say it'll be an early season with 100 per cent certainty just yet, but I'm just hoping that we won't encounter these problems this time round.'
