Required Report: Required - Public Distribution Date: October 30,2020 Report Number: E42020-0065 Report Name: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Country: European Union Post: Berlin Report Category: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Prepared By: Sabine Lieberz Approved By: Kirsten Luxbacher Report Highlights: EU commercial apple production in marketing year (MY) 2020/21 is estimated at 10.8 MMT, a 2 percent decrease compared to the previous year. EU commercial pear production is estimated at almost 2.2 MMT, up 13 percent and a rebound from the very low production in the previous MY, while EU table grape production is forecast to decline by 11 percent and reach approximately 1.4 MMT. COVID- 19 did not impact production volumes but did increase production costs. THIS REPORT CONTAINS ASSESSMENTS OF COMMODITY AND TRADE ISSUES MADE BY USDA STAFF AND NOT NECESSARILY STATEMENTS OF OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY EU Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report 2020 Page 2 This report covers the commodities: Apples, Fresh Pears, Fresh Table Grapes, Fresh Disclaimer: This report presents the situation and outlook for apples, pears, and table grapes in the EU. This report presents the views of the authors and does not reflect the official views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The data are not official USDA data. Unless otherwise noted, ‘EU’ in this report refers to EU27+UK, the current EU Customs Union. This report was a group effort of the following FAS analysts: Xavier Audran FAS/Paris covering France Tania De Belder USEU/FAS Brussels covering Belgium, Luxemburg, and EU policy Ornella Bettini FAS/Rome covering Italy Mila Boshnakova FAS/Sofia covering Bulgaria Monica Dobrescu FAS/Bucharest covering Romania Dimosthenis Faniadis FAS/Rome covering Greece Gellert Golya FAS Budapest covering Hungary Mira Kobuszynska FAS/Warsaw covering Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia Roswitha Krautgartner FAS/Vienna covering Austria and Slovenia Sabine Lieberz FAS/Berlin covering Germany Jana Mikulasova FAS/Prague covering the Czech Republic and Slovakia Andreja Misir FAS/Zagreb covering Croatia Marcel Pinckaers FAS/The Hague covering the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden Carmen Valverde FAS/Madrid covering Spain and Portugal Jennifer Wilson FAS/London covering the UK and Ireland The chapters were coordinated by: Overall coordination Sabine Lieberz Apples Sabine Lieberz Pears Marcel Pinckaers Table Grapes Ornella Bettini Policy Tania De Belder EU Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report 2020 Page 3 Abbreviations and terms not otherwise defined in the report: EU European Union – 27 EU member states +UK FAS Foreign Agricultural Service HA Hectare; 1 ha = 2.471 Acres kg Kilogram MT Metric Ton = 1000 kg MMT Million Metric Tons MS EU Member State(s) MY Marketing year Apples: July/June Pears: July/June Table Grapes: June/May PSD Production, Supply, and Distribution TDM Trade Data Monitor UK United Kingdom US United States (noun) U.S. United States (adjective) USEU U.S. Mission to the European Union WAPA World Apple and Pear Association Trade data cited in this report was derived by using the following Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) tariff codes: Apples: 0808 10 Pears: 0808 30 Table grapes: 0806 10 EU Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report 2020 Page 4 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................5 COVID-19..................................................................................................................................6 Apples ........................................................................................................................................7 Pears, Fresh ..............................................................................................................................17 Table Grapes ............................................................................................................................25 Policy........................................................................................................................................30 1. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP)..........................................................................30 2. Brexit Update ...................................................................................................................32 3. Import Certification of Fruit Shipments...........................................................................32 4. Maximum Residue Levels for Fruit .................................................................................33 5. Marketing Standards ........................................................................................................35 6. Tariffs...............................................................................................................................35 7. Russian Import Ban on Agricultural Products .................................................................35 Trade Fairs ...............................................................................................................................36 Related Reports ........................................................................................................................36 EU Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report 2020 Page 5 Executive Summary Apples Commercial apple production in Marketing Year (MY) 2020/21 (July/June) is forecast to decrease by two percent both compared to the previous year as well as compared to the average of the previous ten years. The decrease is due to a combination of late spring frosts (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary), alternate bearing (France, Spain, Portugal), poor pollination (Hungary), drought/heat (Belgium, Austria, Poland, UK), and hail damage (Hungary, Romania). Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Greece reported a partial rebound from the very low production of MY 2019/20, but the combined increase was not large enough to compensate for the reduction elsewhere. Market prospects are good as beginnings stocks were very low both for fresh apples as well as for apple juice and concentrated apples. The latter is important as the processing sector absorbs significant amounts of lower quality apples. Since 2014, U.S. apples exports to the EU are fairly low due to technical issues linked to using morpholine as an additive in waxes, and diphenylamine (DPA) – a post-harvest treatment for storage scald. Virtually all of U.S. apples exported to the EU are going into the UK and consist of organic apples. The EU is a competitor for U.S. apple exports in markets like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India. Pears MY 2020/21 (July/June) EU commercial pear production is expected to be 13 percent higher than last year, when production was down due to a record low harvest in Italy. Production in Italy, the largest pear producing country in the EU, partly recovered this MY due to favorable growing conditions. Similar good weather conditions, in combination with a slightly higher area harvested, also resulted in an increased pear production in the Benelux countries. The taste, color, and storage quality are expected to be good. However, hailstorms and heavy rains during flowering and fruit setting led to lower production volumes in the Iberian Peninsula. Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal together account for more than 80 percent of EU pear production (but the area harvested in Spain and Italy fell in MY 2020/21). EU pear consumption in MY 2020/21 is expected to rebound after the decline in MY 2019/20 (due to reduced domestic supply). EU pear import and export volumes are expected to remain unchanged in MY 2020/21. Table Grapes In MY 2020/21 (June/May) EU table grape commercial production is forecast to drop by 11 percent from the previous season, mostly due to volume decreases in Italy, down 20 percent, where severe frosts occurred during flowering at the end of March. Mid-September rains and hailstorms contributed to the decline. Production decreases are also forecast in Bulgaria (down 7.1 percent), and Spain (down 4.5 percent). Conversely, increased quantities are forecast in France (up 8.7 percent), Romania (up 3.7 percent), Portugal (up 1.2 percent), and Greece (up 1.1 percent.) Overall, fruit quality is forecast to be excellent with higher sugar content due to hot temperatures in July, August, and early September. EU Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report 2020 Page 6 COVID-19 Impact on Production The overall impact of COVID-19 on production volumes was limited. However, production costs increased due to the imposition of COVID-19-related sanitary standards. These included minimal distancing rules, heightened standards for accommodation, transport, and new documentation requirements. This required adaptation of workflow organization and additional investments. A shortage of seasonal labor - a major concern for European fruit farmers at the onset of the pandemic, when borders were closed and movement restrictions were put in place – occurred in late spring and early summer and affected care and protection treatments, e.g. summer pruning and thinning. By the time of harvest, the legal issues related to the arrival of seasonal workers had been resolved (although some Eastern European producers reported fewer seasonal workers from the Ukraine and Moldova). At the member state (MS) level, several national industry organizations provided hands-on information, guidelines, and tips to growers and