Review of the 2021 French summer fruits campaign

Apricot: a very complicated 2021 campaign

The French apricot was marked by a shortage of volumes. Generally speaking, the campaign was complicated after 15 July, because of the poor climate conditions which caused a shortfall. In addition, consumption struggled with a lack of promotions by distributors. Hence prices remained high throughout the campaign, up by 50 eurocents on last year. Hence for growers who had sufficient volumes, it was a more than satisfactory campaign. Shippers observed better demand from wholesalers aimed at retailers and open-air markets.

With Spain taking market share in Germany and Italy, some French volumes, lacking an export outlet, ended up on the domestic market. As every year, the campaign was marked by strong competition from the Spanish apricot at the beginning of the season. So some work remains to be done in terms of quality, varieties and picking on maturity at the start of the season.

The previous four years were marked by climate incidents, which represents a real difficulty for growers. Planting has practically come to a halt, with a renewal rate of 2 %, compared to the 7 to 8 % required to maintain France’s apricot cultivation area. This year, Gard and Crau had bigger harvests than Rhône-Alpes, which is normally the main production zone.

Peach/nectarine: a favourable season despite the lack of volumes

With a supply shortfall – down by one quarter on normal production because of the early April frosts - the peach and nectarine campaign went better than the apricot campaign. We can note that promotions were wrongly halted, as operators received more volumes than had been forecasted. While volumes in July were smaller than the previous year, August was more dynamic thanks to multiple promotions put in place by the supermarkets, especially for the peach. Operators generally regarded it as a poor year, although the entry-level segment performed better. Prices remained high and firm throughout the campaign. And while certain operators were expecting a production trough, this did not happen. Some smoothing of the volumes and sales was observed, with flat consumption because of the unfavourable weather conditions for sales throughout the summer. Nonetheless, the volumes sold were only down by 4 % over one year, while a 40 % production fall had been predicted before the campaign. Consumption bounced back slightly at the end of the campaign. In terms of price, the nectarine went from €1.50/kg in early July 2020 to €2.30-€2.40/kg in early 2021. The operators reported a boom in the one-kilo entry-level segment this year, with a one-year rise of 15% to 20 % by volume, thanks to lower prices than for loose. Hence while consumption fell overall, expenditure on the peach and nectarine rose.

The flat peach has seen some good sales. To date, it has accounted for 15% to 20% of peach/nectarine sales, though there is some perceptible stabilisation of its market share.

Regarding production and sales of organic peaches and nectarines, operators reported a very favourable season.

Plum: a very fine campaign, despite lack of availability

Overall, operators confirmed a shortage of volumes across all varieties of around 50 % compared to a normal year (55 000 tonnes). This situation is due to the consequences of the frosty spell in early April in all the production zones, which was followed by poor weather from May to mid-July, which affected the fruit’s conservation. While 2020 was a fine year for the plum, 2021 was more mixed. The fruit traded at a higher price than usual, and sales were undermined by poor summer weather. The green varieties Reine-Claude and Bavay did not keep properly (blackened skin and careful sorting required in the packhouses). Nonetheless, growers recognised the promotion efforts made by the supermarkets, though some took advantage of the attractive prices of entry-level Spanish plums. Prices remained high throughout the season, and some varieties even traded at twice the normal level, due to insufficient volumes. Nonetheless, operators reported a general fall in consumption, as for the apricot and peach/nectarine, due to the high price of the fruit.