European stone-fruit forecaster Europech' has released updated forecasts for stone-fruit crops that reveal some significant changes.
The forecaster has calculated that peach and nectarine production in Italy is likely to peak earlier in the season given revised estimates for the southern Italian crop of peaches and nectarines are up by 20 per cent. More northerly growing areas in Emilia Romagna where the majority of export fruit is produced have revised crop estimates downwards by 20 per cent. The overall effect is a nectarine crop likely to be some 14 per cent down on last season and a peach crop eight per cent below last year's levels.
Spain is contending with a serious water shortage with restrictions on usage in place since the end of May in Murcia. And even northerly Aragon and Catalonia where there are new plantings coming on stream, are also suffering unseasonably dry weather. Forecasts are in line with those made at the end of April, approximately 600,000 tonnes of peaches and nectarines.
French apricot forecasts released in April have been revised upwards slightly to 175,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, Spanish forecasts have been revised downwards slightly to 80,000t well below the national orchard’s maximum potential output of some 120,000t.
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