EU apple and pear area contracts in 2019

The European Union’s production of apples and pears is declining. At its peak, in 2012, the apple production area in the 28 EU countries totalled 558,000 ha. In 2019, this figure dropped to 510,000 ha. The EU pear area measured nearly 130,000 ha in 2011, but by 2018, it had shrunk to 116,000 ha.

Poland remains far and away the largest apple producer in the EU. The country’s 166,000 ha account for 30% of the entire EU apple area. The next largest producer is Italy (55,000 ha), followed by Romania (54,000 ha), France (50,000 ha), Germany (34,000 ha), Spain (30,000 ha) and Hungary (24,500 ha).