The international dupracee market is showing a positive trend, after unfavorable commercial years, guaranteeing European growers the chance to make great business again. However, production is much more limited everywhere, with the exception of Greece.
For example, Spanish summer fruit is recording extremely good prices. South Africa, on the other hand, is sending the last plums to Europe, but their excessive price is not understood by European consumers. In South Carolina, in the United States, this year the harvest volume has returned to a normal level, after a very low production year.
Spain: high prices and market vacuum
This year the Spanish dupracee crops is totally different compared to 2017. While last year an excessive offer had caused prices and disastrous yields, this year there were some difficulties in meeting the demand, due to a delay in the collection and lower volumes.
For example, Murcia, the main Spanish area of dupracee production, has been severely hit by rain and hail. This caused a significant drop in dupracee collection with a great impact on other production areas, such as Seville and Huelva. Exports to other countries have been limited this year, as European exporters have encountered problems meeting the demand in Europe.
Italy: positive production decline
The Italian dupracee market is facing the consequences of climatic conditions and difficulties in consumption. However, there is a slight optimism: overall a production of 3,670,000 tons is expected, 8% less than in 2017. If we take into account the percoche, mainly intended for the processing industry, the decrease amounts to in fact 11%.
France: atypical season
Due to the climatic conditions, the situation on the French market has been difficult until now. In May there were abundant rains, hailstorms, strong winds and unstable temperatures, which slowed production down by 15 days. It’s a good quality a good size fruit, but consumption is still very low.
South Africa: resistance to the high prices in Europe on the season finale
Currently, the last volumes of South African plums, mainly of the Angeleno and Flavor Fall varieties, are being shipped, but some large exporters have already finished the season. In this period there was a little resistance to high prices on the European market. As a result, some exporters have decided to avoid certain destinations and to only meet the programs of British supermarkets. The campaign of other dupracee, such as peaches, nectarines and apricots is already over.
Germany: lack of apricot
Currently, supply and demand on the German market are not balanced. Due to unfavorable weather conditions in southern Europe there was a strong shortage of apricots, both from Spain and France, where the season also began with a 10-day delay for Colorado and Pricia varieties.
Israel: late start
After a late start to the season, the Israel dupracee crop is in full swing. The colder periods at the end of winter, combined with heavy rains, pushed the harvest at the end of April, but according to initial reports no production damage was recorded.
However, exports to Europe are sustainable only at the beginning of the season, before Spain arrives on the market; therefore, a late start of the Israel campaign leads to disadvantages in terms of prices and export volumes. As a result, local market prices are currently slightly lower than those recorded in previous years.
Australia: local market and exports to China
The Australian dupracee season was better in terms of timing and quality than last year. Domestic demand was not very large, but the taste and size of the fruit raised consumption. Nectarines continue to dominate sales on the Australian market, with those with preferred yellow pulp compared to those with white pulp.
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