Commercial apple production in Marketing Year (MY) 2023/24 (July/June) is forecast at 11,554,650 metric tons (MT) a drop of 2.5% compared to the previous year. The reduction is largely a combination of poor pollination, higher than normal physiological fruit fall in June, and drought and/or high temperatures affecting large parts of the EU at different times of the year.
Quality is expected to be good, as hail damage remained localized in Italy and Slovenia. Market prospects are good. Beginning stocks were very low for both fresh apples and concentrated apple juice. The latter is important as the processing sector absorbs significant amounts of low-quality apples. With high inflation consumption of fruit is under pressure as consumers have less disposable income.
At the same time, within the fruit category apples are less affected as they are still comparatively cheaper than some other fruits. Since 2014, U.S. apple exports to the EU are low due to technical issues linked to using morpholine as an additive in waxes, and diphenylamine (DPA) – a post-harvest treatment for storage scald. The EU is a competitor for U.S. apple exports in markets like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India.
Pears
MY 2023/24 (July/June) EU commercial pear production is expected to amount to 1,747,521 MT MMT; 12% lower than in the previous year. Record low production in Italy, due to frost, floods, heatwaves, and hailstorms, are the dominant reason behind the EU’s low harvest. Commercial production is also expected to be somewhat lower in France and Portugal, while Belgium and Spain are expecting a larger pear harvest. Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal together account for 84% of EU pear production.
The taste, color, and size of the harvested pears are expected to be good. Compared to MY 2022/23, EU pear imports are expected to increase in MY 2023/24 due to the low EU production.
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Source: fas.usda.gov