France: Apricot and peach production in free fall

Published Aug 10, 2021

Tridge summary

A severe frost in late April has significantly impacted stone fruit production across three-quarters of the territory, with the production of apricots and peaches reaching record lows since 1979 and 1975 respectively. The frost has also affected Europe's larger stone fruit markets, including Spain, Italy, and Greece. As a result, apricot production is projected to decrease by 35% compared to 2020 and 54% compared to the five-year average, leading to a fluid market but low stocks and high prices. Similarly, peach and nectarine production has seen a 24% and 34% decrease respectively from the previous year and the average of the last five years, maintaining high prices due to the limited supply.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The latest figures from the Ministry of Agriculture confirm that the frost episode of the first decade of April, which affected three-quarters of the territory, confirms the exceptional nature of the phenomenon. Apricot and peach production this year will be the lowest ever recorded since 1979 for apricots and 1975 for peaches. In the stone fruit family, cherries suffered exactly the same fate. Note that our European competitors Spain, Italy and Greece are all in the same boat, still under the effect of the freeze. Fluid market for apricots With an estimated production on August 1 at 56,000 tonnes, apricot production is expected to fall by 35% compared to 2020 and 54% compared to the average of the last five seasons. After three months of the campaign (May to July), the provisional national turnover is expected to fall by almost a third over one year and compared to the 2016-2020 average. The sharp drop in quantities produced would not have been offset by the rise in prices. ...

Source: Pleinchamp