Information from industry media

How large are apple stocks in Europe and what are the forecasts for harvesting apples on the old continent? Which varieties will there be more and less on the market than last year? What else do European industry media report on?

Apple harvest forecasts in Europe

This year’s apple production in European Union countries will be slightly lower than last year’s. According to WAPA estimates, Europeans will harvest less than 11.411 million tons of apples this year, which is 3.3% less than in 2022. However, this level of production coincides with the European average over the last three years.

According to these forecasts, the apple harvest in Poland will amount to just over 3.99 million tons and will be lower than last year’s by 11.4%. The harvest of these fruits will also be smaller in Austria (by 26%), Belgium (by 14.9%), Germany (by 11.1%), the Netherlands (by 11.7%) and Greece (by 33.8%). The Portuguese (by 7.3%), the French (by 7.9%), the Spanish (by 30.1%) and the Hungarians (by as much as 96.4%) will harvest more apples than last year.

Which apple varieties will there be more and less in Europe?

The main apple variety in the European Union is Golden Delicious, as reported by sadowniczeabc.pl, citing WAPA data. It is estimated that this year’s harvest of apples of this variety will amount to nearly 2.168 million tons. They will be higher by as much as 11.7% compared to the previous year. An increase in the harvest of the second most important variety produced in EU countries – Gala – is also anticipated. This year, European fruit growers will harvest over 1.527 million tons of these apples. This will be a 4.8% increase compared to last year.

WAPA estimates indicate lower harvests of Red Delicious (by 10% compared to last year) and Idared (by 6.1% compared to 2022).

Italians are moving away from “junk” food

The website sad24.pl presented the results of the latest Italian consumer research. They show that Italians are increasingly choosing products produced using sustainable methods, including organic ones. In turn, interest in processed, ready-to-eat and fast food products is decreasing. This trend has clearly intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, 80% of Italians declare that they are willing to pay slightly more for food products the high quality of which is confirmed by certificates of sustainable production or organic production.

Increasing apple production in Kazakhstan

The website sadyogrody.pl informs about the continuous development of fruit production in Kazakhstan. Over the last nine years, the area of local apple orchards has increased from 21.7 thousand ha to 28.9 thousand ha. The apple harvest more than doubled – from 92 thousand tons up to 205 thousand tons per year. Yerbol Karashukeyev, the Kazakh Minister of Agriculture, assures that these results are related to investments in the modernization of this branch of horticultural production started in 2014. He also announces that next year’s apple harvest will amount to approximately 352 thousand tons. This level of production is intended to fully meet domestic demand. It is worth noting that Kazakhstan is an important importer of European apples.