French apricot production to plummet in 2024

France is experiencing a significant decrease in apricot production, with estimates predicting a 35% drop to 84,000 tonnes this year, following a good harvest in the previous year. The decline is due to alternating production patterns and adverse weather conditions, including excessive rain, which disrupted pollination and caused fruit drop. Additionally, hot weather and a lack of cold during the winter dormancy period also weakened the trees. The earliness of late varieties has also concentrated supply in June and July, leading to a rise in prices as consumption increases with high temperatures in August.

A tough year for French apricots. Around 84,000 tonnes are expected to be harvested in orchards across France by the end of the season, a figure 35% lower than the previous year, according to estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture. In the Rhône Valley, where half of the fruit is picked, production is even expected to plummet by 47% in 2024. The situation is also difficult in the southern regions of Occitanie (-22%) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (-20%), where the other half of French apricots are harvested. This drop is not a surprise. Last year was a very good vintage for the apricot harvest – nearly 128,000 tonnes – producers were expecting to see yields decrease due to the phenomenon of alternating production. More specifically, when they have produced a lot of fruit during a season, fruit trees "rest" the following season. This is the case for the apricot tree. What was unexpected, however, was the extent of the drop in production, aggravated by seasonal weather ...