Warm German Summer Results in Smaller Apples With Shorter Shelf Life

The Constance Lake banks in Germany are apple producing areas that experienced a very warm 2022 summer characterised by heat waves. These areas provide high quality apples, mainly for German retail and European markets. The 2022/23 harvest period is at its peak and producers notice that, in contrast to Italy’s mountain and lowland areas, they are not facing losses in yield. However, sizes are medium to small and the produce quality indexes raise fears that this season's fruit will be of low storage ability and low firmness. The German cooperatives of Constance Lake must now decide whether to invest in long-term storage or to lower prices for quick sales around Christmas. Especially given that the large inventory of long-stored apples caused significant losses during the 2021/22 season.