"French apple season was almost normal"

Vincent Guérin from the Association Nationale Pommes Poires is positive about the French apple season. "In France we were lucky to have a harvest that was almost normal. Volumes only decreased by 4 of 5%. Compared to other European countries, this was quite unique."

"The frost did not reach all regions in France. The areas that have been spared happened to have extremely high volumes. Without the frost, the French production would have been very, very high. Besides, most of the orchards were relatively well protected against the frost. The combination of good protection and a high production did the trick. Still, we should admit that a considerable number of orchards were damaged by the frost and that some producers are facing serious difficulties."

"In the rest of Europe there were shortages on the apple market and therefore it was an easy season with regard to the marketing. Numerous buyers turned towards France to find a new apple supplier. We sold a lot more than usually to Germany, the Benelux and Scandinavia. Scandinavian countries usually import apples from Italy, but the Italian production was too low to meet their demands. This is why France could successfully enter the market. Our growers received good prices."

"In most of the European countries the apples were of good quality and had the right sweetness level. This has increased consumption." According to Vincent, there still is enough French stock to meet demands. However, "some years we still had volumes from the previous season when the next harvest had already started. We won’t see this phenomenon this year. Next summer, the European market will be missing out on apples".

The French pear market is stable with good prices. "France has a limited production. We import pears from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. Because of the shortages on the Belgium and Dutch markets, France imported more pears from Italy than in previous years."

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