EU apple production down 2.4%
The apple harvest in the EU during the 2023/24 campaign is estimated to be 2.4% lower than in the previous season, according to the European Commission's agricultural market outlook report for autumn 2023. The total crop is projected to reach 12 million tons.
Mon 18/12/2023 by Richard Wilkinson
The lack of rainfall for several months together with limited pollination in spring, increasing pest pressure and high production costs are responsible for this decline. After the record crop of 2022/2023, Poland, the largest producer in the EU, is likely to reduce its output to under 4 million tons. A below-average harvest is also expected in Italy and Germany, while slight increases could be recorded in France.
Due to the lower availability of fresh apples in 2023/2024, it is likely that the purchase of fresh apples for consumption will decrease by around 3.6% year-on-year, reaching around 15 kilos per capita.