World production of apples and pears up 5%

Consumption and world production of apples rose almost 5% compared with last year, with 65.1 million tonnes and 52.2 million tonnes respectively, according to a June 2012 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

According to the report, China and the European Union, where the fruit market as a whole is expanding, continue to lead this growth. Exports are estimated at 5.4 million tonnes and are coming mainly from the European bloc.

Although China is the world's second largest apple exporter, only 3% of its production is shipped to other markets, because almost 80% of the country's production is aimed at the local market and another 15% goes to processing.

Production in the European Union is almost 10% higher, estimated at 11.8 million tonnes, favoured by better climatological conditions in the main producing countries.

In the US, production is expected to rise slightly, reaching 4.2 million tonnes, despite a fall in production in Washington, area where half of the country's apples are produced. Exports could rise 4%.

The USDA informed that production is slightly lower (1.4 million tonnes) as a result of higher than normal temperatures. The report states that producers are diversifying their crops, increasing the planting density and replacing traditional varieties for newer, more profitable ones.

Pears
The world production of pears is estimated at 21.6 million tonnes, which is 5% more than last year.

China continues to dominate the production of this fruit and is expecting to reach 15.6 million tonnes. Fruit exports have however gone down due to high prices, the appreciation of the Yen and the low demand for fruit in some Asian markets.

The European Union produced around 2.7 million tonnes thanks to great harvests in the main producing countries.

In the US's case, it was highlighted that domestic fruit consumption has slightly increased, while in Argentina's case the production and export of fruit have gone down.

Source: Connuestroperu