The Valais Fruit and Vegetable Interprofession held their General Assembly on Friday and it was revealed that 2017 was affected by frost and drought. The weather was particularly hard on fruit production which plummeted by 26.8% in 2017. Apricot production particularly stood out with a -49.5% decreased followed by cherries (-34%), pears (-28.9%), strawberries (-26.9%), plums (-24.6%) and apples (-20.9%). Raspberries are the only fruit to have seen an increase in harvest (+1.1%). Gross yield for fruits in the Valais decreased by -26.2% from 71.5 million francs to 52.7 million.
Meanwhile, vegetable volumes "only" decreased by 4.3%. Salads were particularly affected (-10.8%), followed by carrots (-9.8%) and tomatoes (-6.8%). Most other vegetables saw an increase in production, such as cabbage (+93.8%), celery (+48.1%), courgettes (+11.5%) and broccoli (+10/1%). Gross yield for vegetables remained stable over the year, with a slight increase of just under 1%.