The French plum harvest has begun, like all summer fruits, 15 days early. Production has not really been effected by the frost in the South East and South West and despite harvest expected to be lower than usual in the East due to frost in April, the levels are looking good.
Potential should reach over 50,000 tons, maybe end up close to the 54,800 tons recorded in 2015, as opposed to last year which was low in all production regions reaching only 45,000 tons. Amongst the volume recorded last year, 7,700 tons were Mirabelles (despite a 12,000 ton potential), 8,000 tons of Reine-Claude (compared to 9,800 tons in 2015), 1,400 tons of Quetsches (compared to 2,400 tons) and 27,000 tons of plums (compared to 33,000 tons). Whilst potential is good in the South of France, Mirabelle de Lorraine harvest is expected to be similar to that recorded last year, also with a premature production calendar which could see the season beginning early-mid August in the region.
