Apples
Catalonia's forecast for the 2015 apple harvest is to reach 286,610 tonnes, 3% less than in 2014, with drops in all provinces except for Tarragona. Lleida will produce 196,260 tonnes (-3%); Girona 87,360 tonnes (-4%), Barcelona 1,540 tonnes (-3%) and Tarragona 1,450 tonnes (+1%).
Qualitatively speaking, the region expects a slight decrease in the number of fruits per tree, medium calibres, good quality and the absence of russeting on the Golden variety.
As of 22 July, hailstorms have remained local and have not taken a significant toll on Catalonia's apple production.
This year, Girona will harvest 30% of Catalonia's total volume and continues to specialise in the cultivation of apples. Lleida accounts for 68% of the Catalan apple harvest.
The total acreage devoted to apple trees has grown by 1%.
Pears
The forecast for Catalonia's pear harvest in 2015 is to reach 170,480 tonnes, 14% less than in 2014 and lower in all provinces. Lleida will produce 161,770 tonnes (-14%), Girona 6,840 tonnes (-13%), Barcelona 620 tonnes (-4%) and Tarragona 1,250 tonnes (-11%).
The poor fruit setting, physiological drop and strong winds of recent days have motivated a reduction in Catalonia's pome fruit harvest prospects. This decrease was already more pronounced for pears than for apples and last week's strong winds have resulted in the forecast for pears going from -7% to the current -14%.
In general terms, it has been observed that, over the past 20 years, apples have lost 50% of their production volume, while pears have registered the same decline over the past 15 years. The most significant decline has been suffered by Blanquilla pears, with an 80% loss in production volumes, mostly due to the difficulties involved in its handling.