The latest figures from the Stone Fruit Joint Marketing Forum in South Africa reveal that total nectarine exports from the country this season are down 23 per cent in volume on 2008-09, peaches are down 17 per cent, plums are down 12 per cent and apricots are down by six per cent.
South African peaches had a very short season, with fruit generally of good quality and fetching high prices. The season was “short, sharp and sweet”, and ended very early, around the New Year.
In nectarines, a lot of fruit was lost during the course of the South African season due to a heatwave that struck just as the majority of new cultivars - the most notable example being Starborne - were due to be harvested. John Hopkins of Capespan tells FPJ: “The net result is that we have had fewer nectarines out of South Africa than anticipated and prices were buoyant. We saw incidents of waste on Starborne and this should have been one of the first years of major volumes on this.”
However, he adds that nectarine varieties such as Alpine performed “exceptionally” well, and the main impact of the heatwave was to push down volumes of newer cultivars that were headed to retail shelves.
South African nectarines finished in mid-January in the UK. “By and large, the early part of the season was exceptionally strong on the trading side,” says Hopkins. “The mid and late seasons were stable. The only downside of the nectarine season from South Africa has been the disappointing performance of Starborne.”
Plums have enjoyed a strong South African season from the off, counteracted against a 30 per cent drop in Chilean volume due to poor fruit set across all growing regions in the South American country.
Insiders thought that the early crop would be light, but believed that more established varieties would pick up later in the season. However, the heatwave has reduced the crop and volumes are dropping week by week.
“We have had exceptionally strong prices for plums for the second year running,” says Hopkins. He adds that the early part of the plum season failed to throw up enough product to fulfil demand at retail level. “That kept prices stable in the December and January market and that has remained into February,” he says.
Apricots have been the only sub-category from South Africa to endure a tough season, according to Hopkins. Sales suffered as the result of the heavy snowfall in the UK and on the continent - and the UK is not a major market for the fruit anyway.
In the other major source for stonefruit to the UK during the winter months, the Chilean apricot season drew to a close with global exports down around 37 per cent on last season.
The overall Chilean stonefruit season has been delayed in Europe, as weather-induced delays to picking and shipping and high demand in the US have so far reduced exports of peaches, nectarines and plums.
One exporter says: “It has been a very odd season. October, when we normally have high temperatures and sunshine, was cold and cloudy, delaying the development of the fruit by at least two weeks. As an example, we finished picking Elegant Lady peaches on 27 January, when we normally finish around 8 January.
“Yields of all stonefruits were lower than anticipated when the first forecasts were made, sizing has been down one or two counts on average and sugars were slow to develop. The results for the early part of the season are very revealing. Until 25 January, global plum exports were down by 43.8 per cent, peaches were down 46.8 per cent and nectarines were reduced by 40.77 per cent.”
High prices offered for Chilean fruit by the US market, the best in 10 years, have also had a negative impact on volumes sent to the UK and Europe so far.
But Chilean sendings to the UK and Europe are expected to pick up thanks to hot, dry weather with plenty of sunshine since Christmas. This has boosted mid- to late-season nectarines and plums. The overall Chilean stonefruit season is set to wind up two weeks later than usual.
In terms of figures, the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association is predicting a slight recovery in plums by the end of the season, to around 30 per cent down on 2008-09 volumes. Nectarines and peaches are expected to record 15 per cent and 20-25 per cent volume drops respectively by the close of the Chilean campaign.
EUROPEAN STONEFRUIT INDUSTRY PRESENTS A UNITED FRONT
Producers from the three main producer-exporter nations of stonefruit in the EU - France, Italy and Spain - met together last month to agree a united front.
French and Spanish growers have a well established “contact group”, but this time also invited their Italian counterparts to join them in Angers.
Together, the producers have drawn up a list of measures, which they hope will help them face up to what many are already dubbing a “crisis” in their sector.
The European growers would like to see those import controls that are already in place enforced in a more robust manner. They are also hoping to secure EU regulation of commercial practices and improvement of crisis management systems within the framework of the EU fruit and vegetable regime, so that they become useful tools that growers and exporters can really work with.
At the Angers meeting on 13 January, producers from all three countries were agreed that import liberalisation has proved detrimental to their sector and had disastrous consequences. They are calling on EU authorities to strengthen import controls and ramp up inspection and control regimes at Europe’s borders. The producers also want to see greater transparency in commercial dealings to help combat poor prices, and believe this is achievable only with EU intervention.
French and Spanish producers will now revise the draft to reflect their discussions in Angers and are expected to adopt the revised document at a plenary session of their Hispano-French mixed committee in March or April.
Spain was represented at the meeting by several associations and organisations, among them its national producer-exporter federation, Fepex. A spokesperson said: “From our point of view, at the meeting what stood out was that the existing crisis management system is inefficient and should be reformed urgently, both in financial terms and in levels of compensation.”
The three countries are also calling for better sharing of information between them, particularly on the state of the markets. This would build on the good practice that they already established last year.
France has been taking further action to help protect its stonefruit and wider fruit sector with the launch of a new generic brand: Fruidissi (translated as “fruit from here”) to promote the French and regional origin of fruit.
Fruidissi was unveiled in Valence at the end of January by French fruit producers’ federation FNPF at its annual congress.
The federation has been working on the initiative for two years. The project has public funding as well as a large investment from the FNPF and has come about following extensive consumer research. The FNPF’s research identified four priorities among consumers in making their fruit purchases: quality, local origin, seasonality and good environmental practice.
The new name and logo have been well received in consumer testing and the federation is working with multiple retailers and producer organisations to prepare for a consumer launch.
FNPF assistant secretary general Pascal Clavier said: “The aim of this brand is to ensure fairer and more equitable returns to producers. We need them to improve our production techniques and to carry out the necessary changes to adapt to the market - all of this to preserve French fruit production. With crises like that of 2009, it is really under threat… and the FNPF is trying to save it by any means possible, hence Fruidissi.”
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