EU apple production this season is set to remain flat while the pear crop is to be larger, according to a new forecast.

The 2020 forecast from Prognosfruit - an annual industry event held online this year - revealed that apple production will likely drop by 1% year-on-year, while pear production will rise by 12%.

During the conference, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) said the apple production in the EU for the 21 top producing countries is estimated to be just slightly below last year’s result, with a crop of 10.7 million metric tons (MT)

Overall, this year’s apple crop is estimated to be 4% lower than the three-year average.

On the other hand, the EU pear crop for 2020 is estimated to increase by 12% compared to last year to 2.1m MT.

However, a revision of some of the figures presented at Prognosfruit is to be expected in the upcoming weeks.

On August 6, more than 150 international representatives from the apple and pear sector joined the Prognosfruit 2020 Online Conference, the first-ever virtual version of the event in its 45 years to discuss the 2020 forecast.

The virtual conference featured a presentation of the forecast for apples and pears by WAPA Secretary General Philippe Binard, a market analysis by AMI Market Analyst Helwig Schwartau, an overview of the latest trends in processing by Austria Juice CEO Franz Ennser and for organic by Europäisches Bioobst-Forum President Fritz Prem, as well astwo panel discussions for apples and pears respectively.

Earlier this year, the Prognosfruit 2020 organizers announced the cancellation of the event, scheduled to take place in Belgrade (Serbia), due to the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, due to popular demand the event was rescheduled as a virtual conference. Belgrade will now host Prognosfruit in 2021 instead.