“The Olympics will be a great opportunity to promote Mirabelles de Lorraine”

For the Mirabelles de Lorraine plums, this season looks very promising, as the fruits continue to swell at the beginning of June. "The flowering period was very good, with lots of blossoms. For the most part, flowering took place under good conditions, except for certain areas which were hit by a lot of rain, causing the young fruits to drop. We expect to reach around 80% of our production potential, with around 6,000 tons of Mirabelles de Lorraine this year," explains Quentin Hoffmann, president of the Mirabelles de Lorraine association.

Fruit is progressing well
The campaign is scheduled to start in early August. "For the moment, we are still at the fruit-growing stage, which is going well. We have no water supply problems, the trees are growing well and there are no particular worries in the orchards. In the cellular development phase, the fruit needs heat and water, which it is currently receiving."

The Olympics will be a great opportunity for consumption
The start of the campaign should coincide with the start of the Olympic Games in France. This will be a great opportunity to promote this small fruit that is emblematic of France. "The Mirabelle de Lorraine plum is often compared to a sweet, small fruit that is pleasant to snack on in the summer. The Olympics will be a great opportunity to introduce the Mirabelles de Lorraine plums to as many people as possible from around the world."

A rejuvenated and growing crop
Once again this year, production areas continue to increase slowly. "We are seeing a renewal of the orchards. Farmers who replant take the opportunity to increase their production area. So we are seeing a general rejuvenation of the orchards, coupled with farmers taking over family farms following retirements. The Mirabelle plum is a crop of interest, a story of passion with strong local roots. Orchards have often been handed down from generation to generation. The land lends itself well to the production of Mirabelles de Lorraine, with growing conditions that are still interesting, no need to irrigate and good prospects for the future."