August 26 2011, 18:14 Fruit-Inform

China: Shandong's apple production to fall by 30%

According to www.freshplaza.com, due to bad weather conditions, apple production of Shandong (one of Chinese provinces) will be only 5.6 mil. tonnes that is 30% less than last year's 8 mil. tonnes.

China experienced an extremely cold winter and late spring and the apples did not blossom until early May. Rains during the blossom period reduced pollination of the the flowers, and very wet summer months have contributed to poorer quality of fruits. Experts are sure that such weather conditions will result in lower volumes of harvested apples of export quality.

Many producers will leave fruits on the trees till the mid-October in order to get better sizes. At the same time, the late harvest will run a risk of frosts which may cause a further worsening of quality and volumes of exportable apples.

Harvesting of early varieties started last week, however they account only for 10-15 percent of the total apple crop and very few of early apples will be exported from the province. The prices for early apples are 15-20% lower than last year. Experts think that the prices for late varieties will also be lower.

According to Fruit-Inform Project, global prices for apple juice concentrate depend on China's apple production. In addition, in case of decrease in China's harvested volumes of apples, the prices may grow not only for concentrate but in the fresh market too.

More detailed information about prospects of the global market for apple juice concentrate and impact of this factor on pricing in the Russian market will be presented during the Fourth International Conference “Fruit & Vegetable Business of Russia – 2011”. The event will take place in conjunction with World Food Moscow, September 14, 2011. Registration of the conference participants is currently in active progress.