Report says total output will be higher this year, with Turkey on course for almost double last season’s frost damaged production
Global fresh peach and nectarine production is forecast to be 5 per cent higher at around 25mn tonnes in 2026/27, as the world’s three largest producers record bigger crops, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In a report which also anticipated record cherry production worldwide during the same period, the department’s Foreign Agricultural Service predicted the increase could take global production and consumption to their second-highest levels, behind records set in 2024/25.
China, the world’s largest producer, is forecast to increase production by 300,000 tonnes to 17.3mn tonnes, supported by normal growing conditions and greater use of greenhouses to protect crops.
In the EU, meanwhile, production is projected to rise 360,000 tonnes to 3.5mn tonnes, as Spain and Greece recover from weather-related production losses in the previous season.
Turkey is also expected to rebound strongly from frost damage it incurred during the previous season. Its production is forecast almost to double – from 642,000 tonnes to a record 1.2mn tonnes.
American downturn
Those gains in Europe and Asia contrast with the situation in the US, where production is forecast to fall by 92,000 tonnes to 660,000 tonnes.
The USDA suggested the decline was mainly due to lower demand in the processing sector, which is reducing clingstone peach production in California.
Del Monte Foods filed for bankruptcy in July 2025 and subsequently closed its remaining California fruit-processing operations, including its major cannery in Modesto, California.
That plant, which handled peaches as well as pears and apricots, shut in April 2026. Del Monte also closed another operation in Hughson.
Meanwhile, substantial parts of the company’s business, including ownership of the Del Monte brand, were acquired by Fresh Del Monte Produce in March 2026 as part of the bankruptcy process.
Global picture
Around the world, the fresh peach and nectarine trade is forecast to increase 10 per cent to around 1mn tonnes, the report said.
Russian imports are projected to rise from 326,000 tonnes to 360,000 tonnes, while Iraq’s imports are expected to increase from 57,000 tonnes to 85,000 tonnes as Turkish shipments recover.
Turkey’s exports are forecast to more than double from 92,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes, while Chilean shipments are projected to rise from 137,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.
Azerbaijan’s exports, meanwhile, are forecast to fall by more than 20 per cent to 70,000 tonnes after reaching 89,000 tonnes last season, when the country benefited from reduced Turkish shipments to Russia.
The USDA said recent growth in Chilean exports had been driven by nectarines, with planted area for the fruit increasing while the country’s peach area declines.
