The pear and apple harvest has started in Haspengouw. That is two weeks later than in previous years. This year the Limburg fruit growers expect a higher apple harvest and lower pear harvest than last year. Very high prices are expected for the pears.
–
In the plantations in and around Sint-Truiden it is currently all hands on deck to get all the pears and apples off the trees. “After a good winter break in April, a gloomy spring and a soaking wet summer, the finish line is now in sight for our top fruit growers after a year of hard work,” says deputy Inge Moors (CD&V).
–
“There may be no sunburn damage like last season, but the seasonal conditions will also have an impact on the final production level this year.” The weather of the past and the coming weeks certainly has its influence.
–
Three percent of the Flemish agricultural area is occupied by fruit plantations and sixty percent of this is located in Haspengouw. In 2020, 394 million euros worth of fruit was traded.
–
In Europe, a higher apple harvest of 11.7 million tons is expected for 2021 with a greater diversification in varieties. Belgian apples account for 192 million kilograms. Compared to last year, the apple harvest this year is fourteen percent better.
–
Expensive pears
For pears, it’s a completely different story. There, 295 million kilograms of pears are expected across all varieties. That is 25 percent less than last year. In this way, our country also immediately follows the European trend. After all, pear production in Europe is historically low this year at 1.6 million tons. The disappointing pear harvest in Italy, which exports a large part of its harvest to Germany, offers opportunities for Belgian pear growers. There are already indications on futures markets that very high prices will be noted as a result of the poor harvest forecast on the European market.
–
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
–
–
