EU stone fruit crop shrinks

The EU’s projected peach and nectarine crop of 2.67 is down 16.6% compared to last year, according to FAS Post data. The decline in production is due to spring frosts in most growing regions and a continued shrinkage of area planted. The estimated crop is one of the smallest in the last three decades. Meanwhile, the EU cherry crop is expected to be down 5.3% to 664,800 tons. Planted area is expected to remain stable. The smaller crop is predicted to improve market prices for stone fruits in the EU.