The French peach harvest looks set to be in decline. According to estimates drawn up on August 1, national production will reach 218,100 tonnes this year, or 8% less than in 2024. However, this is still close to the average for the period 2020-2024. Prices, meanwhile, remain firm, buoyed by strong demand, as Agreste points out in its economic outlook.
A decline affecting all regions, but more marked in the Rhône Valley
In Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur:
Damage caused by frost and spring rains, compounded by blister and aphid attacks, should lead to an annual decline. Nevertheless, the harvest remains 6% above the five-year average. In Occitanie, the reduction in cultivated areas (-8%), particularly in Roussillon, has resulted in a 7% fall in production in one year. In the Rhône Valley, successive climatic events - frost in March, fruit falls in May, storms in June, and a heatwave in July - combined with the reduction in acreage, explain an estimated 19% fall over one year, and 13% compared to the average over the last five years.
Prices set to rise in 2025
Reduced supply, combined with limited competition from Spain, is keeping prices firm. In July, peach prices were 30% higher than in 2024, and 18% above the 2020-2024 average. Supply, which was in short supply at the start of the month, subsequently increased, but demand, stimulated by the hot weather, kept the market flowing. However, sales slowed slightly towards the end of the month.
Source: agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr
