Although Argentina’s 2019/20 fresh apple and pear productions are projected to decrease to 480,000 tons and 550,000 tons respectively, the lower fruit supply in the Northern Hemisphere is set to boost exports during this campaign, according to USDA data. Apple exports are forecast at 100,000 tons and pear exports are projected to reach 300,000 tons. 

New Zealand’s 2019/20 apple crop is projected to increase by 2.8% to 593,000 tons (source: FAS/Wellington),  due to an expanded harvested area and a good growing season, despite the impact of COVID-19 on harvesting and packing. The larger crop is set to boost the country’s apple exports for 2019/2020, which are forecast to hit a record 400,000 tons, up 2.3% on 2018/2019. This continues a promising trend, as apple exports in 2018/2019 rose 5.8% from 2017/2018. 

Over the years, Prognosfruit has become the leading annual meeting point for the European apple and pear sector. Each year the conference gathers around 300 leaders from the apple and pear sector in a different European country in early August. Prognosfruit is an opportunity not to be missed to debate the latest sector developments and be informed on the annual apple and pear crop forecast.  
 

In November, the largest Belgian trade mission ever travelled to China, in part to promote the country’s exports of Conference pear. Despite China being the world’s largest producer of pears, Chinese consumers love Belgian Conference pears, which were first introduced to the country in 2010, with export volumes rising steadily.

Demand in China for imported pears continues to grow. In 2019/20, imports are estimated to be up almost 40% to 15,000 tons, according to USDA data. The rise in demand is largely attributed to the marketing campaigns organised by main suppliers Belgium and the Netherlands. The additional tariffs imposed on US pear imports mean that shipments have fallen from North America. As for the Southern Hemisphere, China recently granted access to Chilean pears, which join Argentinian pears on Chinese supermarket shelves. 

The EU pear crop for 2019/20 is expected to be down 13% to 2.46 million tons, according to FAS EU data. Production is estimated to be down in all production areas except for the Iberian Peninsula and the Czec

CSO Italy has announced a 34% drop in Italy’s 2019/20 pear crop. The total harvest is expect to reach 511,000 tons. The fall is spread across all of the main varieties, especially for Conference, Abate and Kaiser, less so for William B.C., Santa Maria and Max Red Bartlett.