The Lorraine Mirabelle plum season is in full swing! As early as the end of July, the first fruits were picked in excellent conditions. "The weather has been favorable to the development of the fruit, with alternating periods of sunshine and rain. We are confident about the quality of the harvest," explains Quentin Hoffmann, president of the Mirabelles de Lorraine association.
© Association des Mirabelles de Lorraine
A fine harvest of 5,500 tons is expected this year. "The volumes are more or less the same as last year, but they are much better distributed across the Lorraine region. Last year, rainfall varied from one area to another, which had an impact on flowering in some places. This year, flowering went well throughout the region, and the orchards did not suffer afterwards. It is therefore shaping up to be a very good year." As far as trade is concerned, more than a third of the volumes are reserved for table consumption. "The rest should go towards processing, with a growing trend for non-alcoholic drinks."
© Association des Mirabelles de Lorraine
The plum sector remains dynamic and is still in a development phase, with increasing surface areas. "The big challenge for our sector is to continue to maintain our flexibility and our ability to adapt to selling fruit for both the fresh market and the processing sector. To meet this challenge, we need to be able to control and centralize all the information relating to production, manage and cross-reference this data so that we can best anticipate the impact of diseases and new pests on orchards. In my opinion, this is the biggest challenge facing the Mirabelle plum in the Lorraine region today."
For more information:
Quentin Hoffmann
Mirabelles de Lorraine Association
