The issue of oversupply for apples and pears in Poland is expected to continue in the coming season despite weather issues which caused major damages for many growers a couple of weeks ago. Hail storms two weeks ago caused serious damage over large areas to apple orchards, with some growers seeing complete losses, with others seeing damages ranging from 30 to 40%
Apple production for the coming season had been estimated at 3.74 million tons due to drought conditions the country has been experiencing this summer, but according to Polish Institute TRSK, apple estimates have now risen to 4.15 million tons and 65 million kilos for pears. This is up from apple production in 2015, which totalled 4 million tons.
"I went to visit growers in Roska, one of the biggest apple growing regions, two days ago and had a chance to speak with growers about the current situation in their area, along with the situation in other regions of Poland. The weather is fine at the moment, and the production levels are expected to be higher this year because the newer orchards planted 3 to 4 years ago are now starting to produce." said Marek Marzec from Polish apple exporter Ewa-Bis.
"The issue of overproduction that was seen last year and this year, is not expected to go away any time soon and will most likely continue over the next few years. This is partly due to all the subsidies given to producers 3 to 4 years ago to develop new orchards. It is a clear trend and is not possible to stop, which is going to prove to be a headache to figure out what to do with the high number of apples."
The other issue is that they expected some apples to be oversized in the new orchards due to the good weather and new fertiliser and irrigation systems.
Industrial apples
TRSK also reported that the quality in down for processing apples which, in combination with oversupply, will affect the fruit prices.
Marek said with the amount of industrial apples available on the market, it is expected that prices this season with be lower than it cost to produce.
'The positive thing is that we have seen some new techniques in processing, such as cubed apple products, or 1/8 apples to be used in confectionery, which is in high demand from Germany. I have also received a lot of interest from some markets in Europe, but primarily overseas, who have inquired about buying good quality dried apples for export. We are currently in talks at the moment with these overseas customers to develop dried apple exports." shared Marek.
Foreign markets for export
Ewa-Bis currently supplies their apples to 32 countries around the world. Like their Polish counterparts, they have also been developing trade with countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, but Marek said that China is still the most important new market with the most focus.
"The agreement with China has been signed on the political level, but Chinese authorities have been using a similar approach to apples as they do with meat factories, so I am not sure how it will all work out. There are so many apple producers in Poland and I am not sure how they will work out which ones to visit, but I am sure they will find a solution. I think that it will be a difficult process, but if it succeeds there will be a lot of potential."
