Lower volume of stone fruit throughout Europe
In the absence of the meeting of the main stone fruit producing associations, estimates indicate that Europe will not reach the optimal production potential in any of the areas of the producing countries.
The first European harvest trends and forecasts are revealed, as they have been every year for almost 30 years, by Europech, which coordinates the Italian, French, Spanish and Greek professional organisations on the occasion of MEDFEL. This year, due to the COVID 19 crisis and the postponement of MEDFEL, the partner organisations have decided to offer an online press conference to present the peach/nectarine forecasts.
This year, climatic conditions were particularly complicated and affected the production potential of apricots and peaches/nectarines in all producing countries.
For this 2020 campaign, the optimal production potential will not be reached in all areas and all countries.
Another problem is the availability of labour, which is a concern for producers in all countries, and the extra costs of production generated by all the necessary sanitary measures on farms and in packing stations.