At today's annual Prognosfruit conference, taking place in Kiev, Ukraine, the French apple and pear association (ANPP) is due to forecast a decline in apple and pear production of 4.3 per cent and 13.9 per cent respectively for 2010.
French apple production is anticipated to fall from 2009's 1.65m tonnes to 1.58m tonnes this year, although this last figure is still up on 2008's 1.53m tonnes.
The main French apple varieties are all expected to lose ground, with Golden Delicious, Royal Gala, Granny Smith and Braeburn forecast to fall by 4.1 per cent, 5 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 20.3 per cent respectively.
Niche apple varieties, on the other hand, are anticipated to prosper, with Pink Lady, Ariane and Jazz expected to rise by 7.2 per cent, 5.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively.
As for French pears, production is forecast to fall to 174,000 tonnes, down from last year's 202,000 tonnes, but an improvement on the 157,000 tonnes produced in 2008.
Production of all the principal varieties is expected to decline, with Guyot, Williams and Conference forecast to fall by 9.8 per cent, 15.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively, and with Comice and Passe Crassane both predicted to plummet by some 33.3 per cent.
The full European apple and pear forecasts from Prognosfruit will be available later today.
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