Interpera, the European pear crop forecasting congress, was held on June 26 and 27 in Óbidos, Portugal.
Similar European production to 2023
For all European countries, forecasts for 2024 indicate a pear production similar to the 2023 harvest, below 2 million tonnes (down 25% compared to the previous harvest). In detail: 241,000 T for Belgium (vs. 345,000 T in 2023), 143,000 T for Spain (vs. 164,000 T in 2023), and 123,000 T for Portugal (vs. 107,000 T in 2023). The shortfall concerns Europe's main variety, Conference, marked by a 30% drop in the Belgian harvest. By contrast, Italian and Portuguese harvests show a slight upturn for the Abate Fetel and Rocha varieties.
These figures "should be treated with caution at the start of the summer harvest", warns the ANPP. These initial estimates remain to be confirmed at the time of Prognosfruit, given that periods of drought and other climatic contingencies may still occur. Figures for Italy and the Netherlands will be released in August.
"French production close to normal capacity for summer varieties"
In France, after a low harvest in 2023 (104,000 tons), the forecast for 2024 is close to normal potential (133,000 tons) for summer varieties, i.e. Williams and Guyot, but rather irregular for Conference and Angys. Some localized frost damage has been reported, but overall quality should be good, with good caliber.
French representatives Vincent Guérin, Raphaël Martinez, and Xavier Le Clanche of the Association Nationale Pommes Poires participated in the event
Other topics covered during the Congress included: the challenges facing the sector, including changes to the European regulatory framework, water management, and soil health; projections towards the pear orchard of the future (presentation of the BioFago project - a natural antibacterial agent to combat fire blight), as well as technical visits to Rocha orchards, fruit-growing stations and the Alcobaça technical and research center.
For more information:
Association Nationale Pommes Poires
7 rue Biscornet - 75012 PARIS
Phone: +33 (0) 1 53 10 27 80
Fax: +33 (0)1 53 10 27 88
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.lapomme.org