With southern hemisphere supplies coming to an end as expected and Egypt coming on stream early thanks to some hot weather, there was a smooth transition from southern to northern hemisphere supplies this year.
Fruit is still available from Morocco and the Egyptian season is set to finish early due to its early start. However, a challenging two weeks is anticipated, as North African supplies are coming to an end and European fruit is not yet on stream.
The Spanish stonefruit campaign is likely to kick off with delays of at least a week and in some cases, as many as three weeks. There will also be some impact on volume following heavy rains and cool temperatures throughout the spring.
Estimates from Spain vary by region and variety - apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach and plum -but overall agronomists are pointing to a decline of about 20 per cent of the crop.
The main damage was done by rainfall during blossoming but subsequent flooding has also waterlogged roots and caused longer-term damage to trees. Fruit development has therefore been affected and even in a best-case scenario, technicians in the fields are pointing to losses of 10 per cent for the luckiest growers.
In Murcia, in south-east Spain, grower leaders are among the most optimistic. They believe the outlook for their region is very good despite the worst of what the weather can throw at them. Between the rain and frosts, growers hope production in Murcia will only be delayed by about a week. And they are forecasting some excellent quality in peaches, apricots and plums this year. Their main focus this season will be to try to reduce costs without diminishing any promotional effort, to keep stonefruit front of mind among consumers.
Further west in the Jerte valley, in the Spanish region of Extremadura, the regulatory council for denomination of origin cherries forecasts a three-week delay. The earliest varieties are only just coming on stream and stalkless Picota cherries will not be harvested for another month. Here, however, it is the cold spell that has delayed the start and not excess water. Late frosts came during the flowering of plums in parts of Extremadura. And to the south in Andalusia, it is mainly heavy rainfall that has hit peach and nectarine trees particularly hard.
Much further north in Catalonia, the picture is slightly different. The region came out last week with a forecast for an increased volume of three per cent in stonefruit, predominantly on peaches and nectarines, after a hail-damaged year in 2009.
One insider tells FPJ that the anticipated delay on the Spanish crop is gradually being brought forward as each day passes. “There has been a slight delay in Spain, but we don’t see a problem once the season is up and running,” says one trader.
Italy is also confident of a good season at the moment, as a cold winter has helped secure a good fruit set.
“Once we are out of the early part of the European season, we should have a good run,” says one insider. “Last year was a bumper crop, which helped us due to the sterling-euro exchange rate, so I am hoping for a bumper crop this year too.”
Israel has been hit with some hot weather during the flowering period, which has significantly reduced the country’s plum and apricot crop. “As there is not a lot of fruit in Israel and the local market is strong, not many growers seem to be looking to export and I think many will stick locally,” says one insider.
The California crop is also just about to come on stream. Poor weather in April has led the state’s stonefruit growers to revise their prediction for this year’s peach, plum and nectarine crop to 46.8 million cartons.
The California Tree Fruit Agreement’s (CTFA) 29 April forecast is a very slight increase over the 2009 deal, but well down on the almost 60m cartons produced in 2008.
The original prediction of more than 50m cartons was reduced by an unusually cold, wet and windy April, according to CTFA president Gary Van Sickle.
Meanwhile, Northwest Cherry Growers in the US has completed its first round of industry and grower crop estimates, and has predicted a crop smaller than the all-time record tally of 20.5m cartons seen in 2009.
At this stage, the 2010 Northwest cherry crop is estimated at 16.15m 20lb (9.1kg) cartons and with the initial harvest date predicted to be 1 June. There will be a more significant crop overlap with California than in the past few years.
The late portion of the California cherry crop appears to be coming after 31 May this year and the Californian season will run well into June, with volume through to 15 June and possibly up until 20 June.
Back on the UK retail front, traders are concerned about the amount of promotional activity taking place so early in the season. One says: “I think a lot of retailers are going after market share this year. But there is not an abundance of fruit at the moment and growers know that. There seems to be a disparity between when the promotional activity starts in the next couple of weeks and how much fruit is actually available.
“We have had a comfortable three weeks because of the good weather and with a reasonable amount of fruit around and a strong Egyptian season, our sales have gone up day by day. But sustainability will be the challenge this season, with prices maybe not reflecting the fruit that is around,” the trader adds.
DOMESTIC APRICOT CROP TO MAKE APPEARANCE IN RETAIL AISLES
A good-quality domestic apricot crop is expected to make its appearance on UK retail shelves this summer, according to AG Thames.
Early indications are for a very good apricot crop in the UK this summer, due to plenty of chilling hours over the winter and high UV levels during and after flowering.
AG Thames is the master licence-holder of a number of Cot varieties in the UK and this season, fruit is due to be available in commercial volumes for the first time towards the end of July.
“The flowering period has been reasonably frost free,” business unit director Danny Francis tells FPJ. “First picks will most likely take place in either the third or fourth week of July.”
The trees came into blossom towards the end of April - a rare sight in the UK that only lasted for a few days.
“This year’s crop is potentially bigger than last year, as we have more trees capable of fruiting, combined with perfect conditions,” says Francis. “Very good quality levels are expected this season based on last year’s crop, which had good colour, large size and excellent sugar levels.”
AG Thames has developed a number of Cot varieties - Tom Cot, Flavor Cot, Berge Cot, etc - and thousands of trees have been planted across the UK at a number of different sites.
Francis adds: “We have planted them with a good geographical spread, to not only give us availability should a certain area not perform, but also the harvest dates vary slightly from area to area, thus we can have more of a season.
“In the next few years, we will see not only an increase in production on the varieties that we have currently on offer, but also we have worked on complementary collections that harvest earlier or later, to offer the market a longer season of UK apricots.”
AG Thames is keen to build on the short season as a means of building brand awareness around UK apricots. “It would certainly be an objective to make sure that the crop has a clear UK brand message associated with it; our customers are certainly keen to support the crop,” says Francis. “As additional volumes come on line over time, we will continue to create further exposure for the season, marking out its point of difference.
“It has been proven that apricots can be produced in the UK, and due to the fact that we work with key growers in the country on soft fruit and top fruit, it gives us a platform that can be built on. We are very excited about the potential of locally grown apricots,” he adds.
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