Europe
Apple Prices Remain Critically Low in Poland, Ukraine and Moldova (Mar 20)
According to EastFruit analysts, prices for apples of the most common variety Golden Delicious in Poland, Ukraine, and Moldova remain stable and show no signs of recovery. The lowest prices are in Poland, which had a good apple yield in 2022. The price situation is very similar for all major apple varieties. Even growers in Ukraine, a country cut off from its own seaports by Russian aggressors, get higher prices than growers in Poland. Moldova gets the highest price of the three, due in part to its relatively low harvest in 2022 and its partial access to the Russian market. Yet prices in all these countries are well below normal levels and far from comfortable for growers. In Poland, apple prices remain very low for the second consecutive season. Growers usually sell Golden Delicious apples at USD 0.40- 0.46/kg (€0.37-0.43) at this time of the year, but over the last two years, prices have been between USD 0.28 and 0.32/kg (€0.26 and €0.30) while costs have drastically increased.
China
In 2022, China Imported the Largest Volume of Apples in the Last Three Years (Mar 21)
According to EastFruit analysts, the volume of apples imported into China in 2022 grew by 40% and became the largest in the last three seasons and one of the largest in history. In total, 95.5K MT of fresh apples were imported, 27K MT more than in 2021. "China, being the world's largest exporter of fresh apples, is also a major importer. The main reason is that there are many wealthy people in China who prefer imported products. Therefore, traditionally, China imports premium quality apples for a high-priced segment," explains Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Center of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). New Zealand remained the main supplier of apples to China in 2022, with around 58% of the supply representing 55.6K MT. New Zealand's exports to China in 2022 increased by 43% (17K MT). The second is South Africa, which overtook Chile in 2021. South Africa exported 17.2K MT of fresh apples to China in 2022, 40% more than a year earlier. Chileans increased the supply of fresh apples to China 1.5 times in one year to reach 11.5K MT.
Poland
There Is Very Good Information About the January Export of Apples From Poland (Mar 22)
The Ministry of Agriculture published preliminary data on total apple exports in January 2023. Poland has very good information, because exports were higher both in terms of tonnage, but above all in terms of value. New to the ministry's list is India, which is at the top of the list. It's about export value. It is true that Poland exported more tons of apples to Egypt and Romania. However, it was the apples shipped to India in January that were worth the most. As known, the country is mainly supplied with striped Gali sports, as well as Red Delicious sports. The very good news is the increase in the value of apples exported in January by 23% YoY. Of course, this includes higher storage, sorting, and packaging costs. On the one hand, it proves to us that it is possible to exist in distant markets not only with a competitive price but also with quality.
Moldova
In 2022, Moldova Dramatically Expanded the Geography of Apple Exports (Mar 20)
According to Moldovan statistics, in 2021 the country supplied apples to 18 countries of the world, then last year their list expanded to 30. The heads of ministries, departments, international donor programs, and local non-governmental organizations of agricultural producers attribute this fact to the category of great positive achievements of the fruit-growing sector in Moldova. Absolutely all operators of the fruit market in Moldova, interviewed by EastFruit analysts, are unanimous in their opinion that the reduction of the extremely high dependence in the process of apple export on actually one and only market, the Russian market, which previously accounted for more than 95% of external sales, is definitely good. In 2022, the share of this market in the structure of Moldovan apple exports for the first time in the modern history of Moldova fell below 90%. In parallel with this, the volume of supplies of Moldovan apples in 2022 to the EU countries came close to the symbolic mark of 10K MT and to the countries of the Middle East exceeded 4K MT.
In the 2022/23 Season Moldovan Producers of Concentrate Will Process Almost Half as Much Apple (Mar 22)
Representatives of the Association Speranța Con believe that in the current season, apple processing will be completed in late March to early April, that is, about a month and a half earlier than in previous years. Given the sharp warming and the associated rapid degradation of the quality of apples at the raw material sites of factories producing concentrate, it is likely that already this month two out of three enterprises operating this spring will stop the acceptance of apples. According to a preliminary assessment of the association's specialists, the factories will process a total of about 200-210K MT of apple harvest-2022 in by the end of the season. In previous years, they purchased about 340-370 K MT of this raw material for processing. According to factory managers, the decline in the production of apple concentrate is due to three basic reasons. Firstly, this is a sharp decline in the apple harvest in Moldova last year by about 400-420K MT against 660K MT in 2021. Secondly, last fall, under the pressure of bad news from the traditional markets for apples and the purchase of energy resources, Moldovan agricultural producers and traders put much fewer, but better quality apples into fruit storages for sale in winter and spring. Thirdly, given the growing costs and unclear prospects for the sale of the concentrate in the summer-autumn of this year, Moldovan processors do not want to increase the purchase prices for apples above USD 0.10- 0.11/kg (1.9-2 lei) in the spring.
Brazil
Apple Growers Ask the Government Not to Sign a Deal With China (Mar 20)
The state of Santa Catarina, the main producer of apples in Brazil, with 48% of the planted area, requested the Ministry of Agriculture to withdraw the fruit from the agenda of the Brazilian government's negotiations with China. At the end of March, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to the Asian giant, taking several agribusiness demands. However, in the case of apples, according to a note from the Department of Agriculture of Santa Catarina, a possible agreement to import the Chinese fruit could “make the production of apples in Santa Catarina unfeasible”, in addition to bringing “extremely high health risks” to orchards in the states of Santa Catarina.
United Kingdom
UK Apples and Pears Will Be Missing From the Shelves (Mar 20)
Apples and pears could be the UK's next food shortage, in fact, British growers are renovating only a third of orchards. "At least 1M new trees a year to maintain the UK's 5.5K ha of production,” explains Ali Capper, head of the British Apples & Pears trade association, which represents about 80% of the sector. Capper says that fruit growers' costs have increased by about 23% as harvest, energy, transportation, and packaging costs have also increased while yield has been less than 1%, and "most growers are now losing money". So much so that there are not a few who are thinking of abandoning production while others have already frozen orchard activity or are uprooting them as earnings disappear.
Georgia
Export of Apples From Georgia Increased Over the Year, but There Is a Nuance (Mar 21)
From September 2022, when the apple season begins in Georgia, until the end of February 2023, Georgia exported 6.3K MT of apples, which is 17% more than in the same period a year earlier. Export prices were almost unchanged from the previous season, so export earnings in US dollars also increased by 17%. EastFruit analysts note that exchange rate fluctuations and high inflation devalue this success. The volume of exports in the current season, from September to February, is the second largest in at least the last 8 years. This volume is only below the exports of the 2020 crop, which was an exceptional period as the pandemic and adverse weather forced the Russian Federation to purchase huge volumes of many agricultural products. The current buyer is also the Russian Federation but does not buy as much as in the 2020/21 season. The total value of apple exports in September-February amounted to USD 4M against USD 3.4M for the same period of the previous season. In lari, the total value of exports this season is USD 11M, which is 3% more than a year earlier. But in terms of the number of goods and services they can buy, this income is still less than 6% compared to the income earned in the previous season.
Colombia
Data Analysis: Increased Supply Depressed Wholesale Apple Prices in Colombia by 6% WoW (Mar 21)
Following weeks of consistent price increases of fresh apples, the Royal Gala variety in Colombia, in W3 of March, the wholesale price dropped 6% WoW to USD 1.81/kg. The upward trend made a turnover due to an oversupply of Royal Gala’s big calibers coming from Chile, according to Jose Caballero, Tridge’s Senior Manager in Colombia. Chile is a number one supplier of fresh apples to Colombia, with an overall 71% market share and a total of USD 69.44M in export value in 2021. In MY 2021/22, Chile sent 62.04K MT of apples to Colombia. Historically, Colombia has been a top market for Chilean apples, and in MY 2021/22, it remains the top destination. Based on Tridge predictions, the wholesale price of fresh apples in Colombia will continue a downward trend, driven by increased supply from Chile.
