The French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish peach and nectarine contact group met in Fundao, Portugal, on the 14th and 15th May. The group, composed of the heads of the sectoral associations from the four countries and administration officials, will ask the European Commission to modify the regulations on the authorization of plant protection product use to streamline it among Member States.
The contact group's sectoral associations carried out a study analyzing the active materials used in the production of peaches and nectarines in each country and determined which must be maintained.
The group also agreed to request the European Commission to allow the authorizations for plant protection products to be made on a zonal basis and not by Member State, to have greater availability of these products. This way, when a product is authorized, for example, in Spain, it will automatically be approved in all the countries of the southern zone. Currently, Regulation 1107/2009 on the marketing of plant protection products establishes three zones for the authorization of plant protection products: zone A, which corresponds to the countries of the north, such as Denmark, Sweden, and Finland; zone B, which corresponds to the countries in central Europe, such as Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria... and zone C, composed of the countries of the south, such as Spain, France, Greece, and Italy.
Fepex Stone Fruit Committee forecasted at the end of April that Spain's production would be similar to last year's, depending on the weather conditions of the first half of May. This month's hailstorms have significantly affected production, and the total impact is being assessed. The contact group also reported that other producing countries, such as Italy and France, were also affected by hailstorms. Their impact has not yet been determined, as these countries' seasons start later than in Spain.
Italy estimates production will decrease by around 7% compared to last year. France expects a similar production to 2024, highlighting the stabilization of the crop in recent years.
The Fepex delegation at the contact group meeting was made up of representatives from the Federation, the Apoexpa (Murcia), Afruex (Extremadura), and the AEAMDE (Aragon) associations.
Next year, the peach and nectarine contact group will also include apricots, flat peaches, plums, and cherries, and will be renamed the stone fruit contact group.
For more information: www.fepex.es