«Apple in the World» conference at Interpoma

 The international apple market will dominate the agenda on the first day of the annual international conference “The Apple in the World”, which is being hosted by Interpoma, the international trade show for apple growing, storage and marketing (6-8 November at Fiera Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy). “One of the focuses of the conference will be the world apple market, especially the Asian, Russian and European markets,” says conference organiser Kurt Werth (pictured), a global authority on the apple sector. “It is generally accepted that in Europe, fruit growers’ organisations play an extremely significant role. For them business is booming right now, due in no small measure to marketing policies introduced by the European Union, which has also implemented important strategies for the prevention and professional management of sales crises,” he concludes. Over 63 million tons of apples were produced worldwide in 2006 (* Source: World Apple Review, Belrose Inc., 2007), of which 55% were grown in Asia. Europe was the world´s second most productive area with 22% of the total harvested volume, while North America accounted for 15%. Among European nations, Italy was the top producer with an output of 2,142,000 tons (Source: Eurofel, 2007). Of this total, 46% (978,000 tons, Source: Bolzano Chamber of Commerce, 2007) were harvested in South Tyrol, the cradle of the European apple industry with 18,000 hectares of cultivated area. The continuous replanting of apple orchards to keep pace with production and market demands, variety renewal and attention paid to the most sought-after varieties: these are the factors which have made South Tyrolean apple growers the global leaders in their field. Over the last few years in South Tyrol, around 800 hectares of apple orchards have been replaced with the market’s most popular varieties. Last year, for example, 40% of the new orchards were planted with Golden Delicious and 15% with Gala. The Granny Smith and Red Delicious varieties are also favoured by apple growers, each accounting for 11% of new plantations.