European apple production to drop by 11% in 2024

European apple production is expected to decline by 11% in 2024 compared to last year. This announcement was made during the Prognosfruit Conference in Budapest, where experts from the European fruit sector gathered to discuss the outlook for the upcoming season. The decline brings total production to 10.2 million tons, which is also 13.6% below the average of the past three years. The Golden Delicious and Gala varieties are particularly affected, with expected decreases of 10.2% and 11.1%, respectively.

Pear harvest shows slight improvement

Despite the disappointing apple production, the European pear harvest shows a slight improvement. The total harvest is estimated at 1.79 million tons, reflecting a 4.9% increase compared to last year. This increase is mainly due to a recovery in production in Italy, which is set to harvest 120.5% more pears than in 2023. In contrast, harvests in Belgium and the Netherlands are expected to decrease by 26.6% and 8.7%, respectively. The production of the Conference variety, popular in the Netherlands and Belgium, is expected to drop by 13.5% to 776,128 tons.

Weather conditions impact production in Eastern Europe

The drop in apple production is partly attributed to poor weather conditions in Central and Eastern Europe. These regions were heavily impacted by late frost and hail, leading to lower harvests in countries such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. As a result, there is expected to be a reduced supply for apple processing in the 2024/2025 season. On the other hand, volumes in Western Europe, including France and Spain, remain relatively stable, which could provide some market stability.

Groentenfruithuis.nl