Apple harvest forecast 2022 Southern Hemisphere -7%

On the occasion of its annual general meeting, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) has released estimates of the southern hemisphere’s apple and pear harvest for the upcoming season. According to the estimates, which collect data from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa, it is estimated that apple and pear production will decline by 7% and 6%, respectively, in 2022 compared to the previous year.

On February 24, 2022, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) released its estimates for the 2022 apple and pear crop in the Southern Hemisphere at its annual general meeting. This report was prepared with the support of ASOEX (Chile), CAFI (Argentina), ABPM (Brazil), Hortgro (South Africa), APAL (Australia), and New Zealand Apples and Pears and therefore contains aggregated data from countries The main six of the southern hemisphere.

Philip Benard, Secretary General, WAPA: “This appreciation of the global apple and pear sector comes against a backdrop of many uncertainties, including geopolitical tensions, rising farming costs, the impact of rising logistical costs and limited container availability, labor shortages and growing concerns about declining consumption due to Economic situation “.

Estimates of the 2022 harvest of apples in the Southern Hemisphere show a 7% decrease to a total of 4,864,000 tons compared to last year (5,217,000 tons), mainly due to a 30% decrease in Brazil and an 11% decrease in Argentina . Production is also expected to decline by 3% and 2%, respectively, in Australia and Chile. New Zealand and South Africa are the only countries where apple production is expected to increase (by 15% and 4%). Chile is expected to remain the largest apple producer in the Southern Hemisphere (1,455,000 tons) in 2022, followed by South Africa (1,163,000 tons), Brazil (900,000 tons), New Zealand (590,000 tons) ), Argentina (445,000 tons) and Australia (311,000 tons).

At 1,706,000 tons, Gala remains the most popular apple variety, although its production is expected to decrease by 7% compared to 2021. Despite the decline, exports are expected to remain stable at 1,744.762 tons , with higher exports from New Zealand (+17%) and South Africa (+6%) would offset the 65% drop in Brazilian apple exports.

pear
As for pears, farmers in the Southern Hemisphere estimate a 6% drop in yield to 1,229,000 tons. The decline is mainly due to a 13% drop in Argentina, an 11% drop in Chile and a 6% drop in Australia. On the other hand, New Zealand and South Africa are expected to increase their production by 31% and 5%, respectively. Argentina remains the largest producer in the Southern Hemisphere (522,000 tons), followed by South Africa (492 thousand tons), Chile (122 thousand tons), Australia (81 thousand tons) and New Zealand (11 thousand tons). Buckhams triumph remains the most prevalent (444,000 tons, despite a 4% decrease from 2021), followed by the Williams Bon Chretien pear (306,000 tons). Exports are expected to decline by 6% from 2021 to a total of 641,207 tons, mainly due to a 14% drop in Argentine exports.

In the Northern Hemisphere, US stocks were 1,478,180 tons of apples (-1% yoy) and 149,553 tons of pears (+32% yoy) on February 1, at 1,478,180 tons of apples. In Europe, the stock of apples and pears reached 3,606,980 tons (7% more than last year) and 408,340 tons (30% less than last year).

Philip Benard: “Seasonal developments clearly show the consequences of logistics and international trade costs, including for suppliers in the Northern Hemisphere, where sales of apples and pears in the United States are concentrated in North America. The remaining European markets will be affected by the ban on Belarus, while Recent developments in Ukraine will also affect sales to all destinations in Eastern Europe, including Russia, to all apple and pear suppliers worldwide.

WAPA’s annual general meeting also discussed carbon dioxide emissions and how growing apples and pears can become carbon neutral or even make a positive contribution to the environment. WAPA will continue to work with its members on this topic in an ad hoc working group that draws on the input and expertise of the University of Bolzano (Italy).

Finally, during the Annual General Meeting, the return of Prognosfruit in the first half of August 2022 in Belgrade (Serbia) was also confirmed as a personal event. The exact date of the event will be announced on the Prognosfruit website soon.

for more information:
World Apple and Pear Association
+32 2777 15 80
[email protected]
www.wapa-association.org