After a difficult 2022 campaign in France due to rising production costs and cloudy weather, this year looks optimistic for French apples. 2023 will finally mark a return to positive dynamics with a more promising market. This was announced by the French Association of Apples and Pears (ANPP) in the forecast of the harvest and prospects for the 2023/2024 season, FreshPlaza reports.
This year, no serious weather events affected the apple orchards in France. According to ANPP President Daniel Rader, the 2023 harvest looks good and should satisfy consumers in terms of quantity and quality.
In general, it is expected to harvest 1.5 million tons of apples, which is 8% more than in 2022 and 10% more than the average for three years (120 thousand tons more than the volumes harvested over the past 3 years).
Both on the domestic and export markets, apples of France should benefit from a rather low European harvest this year (11.4 million tons announced at Prognosfruit, against a production potential of 14 million tons), as well as from the lack of carryover stocks on the market.
Figures by varieties:
Golden should reach 358 thsd tonnes (+10.8% by 2022);
Gala – 279 thousand tons (+6.9% by 2022);
Granny Smith – 139 thousand tons (+2% by 2022).
Each Swiss consumes 16 kg of apple a year
In Switzerland, the apple is the absolute leader in the ranking of fruits: each Swiss eats an average of about 16 kilograms of apples a year: raw, juiced or dried. The star among apples is the Gala, with Swiss gardeners harvesting more than 30 thousand tons of this variety every year. Golden Delicious is in second place, and Breburn is in third. The most important apple growing area is eastern Switzerland.
High prices in Ukraine
Wholesale fruit prices in Ukraine as of the end of 2022 were on average 98% higher than at the end of 2021. The main reason for such a sharp rise in prices is the rise in the cost of imported products due to the devaluation of the hryvnia and the increase in logistics costs as a result of the full-scale invasion of the country by Russian aggressors.
China, which is a perennial leader in the world ranking of apple exporters, sharply reduced its exports in the 2022/23 season.