Last Thursday, August 8, the Belgian Alden Biesen, hosted the largest fruit cultivation congress in Europe: Prognosfruit. Over 260 visitors from 17 different countries travelled to the beautiful castle of Alden Biesen. The congress announced the predicted European apple and pear harvest, followed by various presentations about the next edition on Prognosfruit, new varieties and precision agriculture.
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Prognosis
The European apple production is expected to be 10,556,000 tonnes this year. That is 20% less than last year and 8% lower than the average of the past three years. The European pear harvest is expected to be 14% lower than last year at 2,047,000 tonnes and 9% lower than the average of the past three seasons. Click here for all figures.
Filip Lowette (BFV), Philippe Appeltans (BelOrta), Luc VanOirbeek (V.B.T.) and Philippe Binard (WAPA)
"Figures more positive than last year"
After the figures were announces the mood was positive. It is clear that the figures are better than last year, but according to various visitors the supply is still greater than the demand. The Russian boycott is still in people's minds and they are tired of footing the bill from political conflicts. Yet the speakers and visitors tried to let a positive note shine through by talking about opening new markets, improving the quality and looking for new varieties.
K3: Kees de Kat (Royal Fruitmasters), Kees Vogelaar (Vogelaar Vredehof) and Kees Oskam (Handelsmaatschappij Oskam)
Belgium: 10 to 15 percent lower harvest due to the heat
The decrease in the predicted harvest is largely due to extreme weather conditions, which have been prevalent throughout Europe. Hail has been a problem in many countries, but the heat from a few weeks ago also caused a lot of fruit to be lost. The Belgian harvest projections will likely be 10 to 15% lower than the figures presented yesterday. They had to be submitted by the start of July, but after this date the country was hit by a heat wave which meant a lot of the harvest was still lost.
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Silvia Janssen-Voorbij of Service2Fruit and Luc Vanoirbeek of V.B.T., one of the organisers of Prognosfruit 2019
After the afternoon break it was time for the various presentations and the announcing of the country that will organise the next edition of Prognosfruit. The congress will be held in Serbia next year. Serbia is a big player in the area of frozen soft fruit, but the apple market is showing a strong increase. The country lends itself well to applied cultivation and because it is easy to find cheap labour this sector is growing very quickly.
Castle Alden Biesen