“Tasteful French apricots are now entering the market”

For the 2024 campaign, 500 tons of apricots are expected from the 8 Mas Saint-Paul producers, which cover 300 hectares of orchards. According to Pierre Monteux, this shortfall is due to the unfavorable weather during flowering, which was detrimental to pollination. "Some varieties were more affected than others. The flowers were not fertilized and did not produce fruit. Overall, we will reach 50% of our harvest potential this year for 60 hectares of apricot trees."

While the first apricots were harvested on the 13th of May, the tasty varieties such as the Samouraï are now entering the market. "We are now starting to get something very good in terms of taste. The campaign has just started, with around 50 tons per week, so the market has not taken off yet. For the moment, distributors are sticking to the Spanish origin. But Spanish apricots are sold at a higher price this year, which is advantageous for us. With a smaller price differential, distributors will be more inclined to switch to the French origin. We can already see apricot lines opening up, and we suspect that the peach and nectarine lines will open up earlier than usual."

Pierre Monteux is confident about the 2024 stone fruit campaign. "For the moment, we are selling well and we do not have any stocks. We just need the market to take off, but this will depend on the weather. I am relatively calm about the campaign. When the time comes, we will be able to meet the demand."