According to Peaches and Apricots of France, “the very first harvest of French apricots will take place this week (week 20), and more significant volumes should arrive on the market from the end of next week (week 21) and in week 22. For the whole season, forecasts are based on a volume slightly lower than last year (64,000 tons marketed for a global potential of nearly 80,000 tons, which is 65% of the national production).”
“With the cool temperatures of the last few weeks, the harvest should be in line with the normal schedule and the peak of production will only be reached in early July, compared to the end of June for the previous years. The marketing of the Bergeron variety spreads over 3 weeks, so the peak of week 27 should be put into perspective, and the availability of week 28 to 30 should be increased, for a volume of 6,000 to 7,000 tons/week.”
Weekly apricot harvest forecast for Peaches and Apricots of France in 2023
“In all regions, the Colorado, Pricia, Wondercot and Mayacot varieties will start the season, alongside new promising varieties such as the Prialina. The Bergeron apricots are expected to be released around the 10th of July.”
Prialina apricot before harvest - Photo credit: Pascal DELON
So far, the French production has been relatively spared by weather hazards
“The European harvest forecast is 503,000 tons (-7% compared to 2022, but -7% compared to the 2017-2021 average), as revealed on April 26th at medFEL.
Spain is back to a level of almost 100,000 tons closer to its potential. However, the drought has impacted the forecasts. The production in Murcia has dropped by 30 to 40%. In Catalonia and Aragon, the risk is major, and the closure of the Urgell canal (irrigating 50,000 hectares) provides clear evidence of the problem.
In Italy, the campaign started with the southern regions, while the northern regions are still recovering from the floods and hail storms.
In France, last weekend's rains have allowed part of the water reserves to refill in the Pyrénées-Orientales department that was threatened by drought. This has helped reduce the stress level of the producers, even if there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the rest of the summer, depending on how the weather will evolve. Hail has affected some production areas (Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard) but the damage will not be significant on the national scale.”