European peach and nectarine crop forecast to rise by 14%
At MEDFEL-EUROPECH, the peach and nectarine harvest forecasts for Europe 2023 presented indicate a 14% rise in output. However, the estimates did not take into account the impact of frosts, hail, drought and floods on the final crop, which may be significantly lower.
On both sides of the Pyrenees, in Roussillon and in Catalonia and Aragon, the drought has been raging for more than a year. Reservoirs are at a minimum and restrictions have been imposed on the use of water. Additional restrictions may emerge in the coming weeks with ongoing and possibly future impacts on production and even plantation survival. Italy’s Emilia Romagna has seen losses due to flooding that are still impossible to assess.
Last year’s campaign saw crops more than halved in Spain’s Catalonia and Aragon due to spring frosts, which the other European productive areas were fortunately spared.
This year, with all the above caveats, the European forecast stands at 3.379m tons of peach and nectarine, which is 14% more than the 2022 crop, and -1% compared to the 2017-2021 average.
