Identity card
The fruit of the apricot tree (Prunus armeniaca, a tree with white flowers from the rosaceae family), the apricot (also called Armenia plum or apple) is a drupe like the cherry, plum or peach. To bear fruit, it needs a certain number of hours of cold. The apricot is not a climacteric fruit and it must be picked when ripe. Its generally orangey colour comes from the presence of carotene, which turns into Vitamin A. The apricot has one of the highest Vitamin A content, like the mango and melon. The different apricot varieties (about thirty on the market, although ten are the most common) succeed each other from mid-June to end August. The campaign begins with Early Blush (pale orange with red overtone),
Tomcot and Orangered (large, flat oblong fruit, coppery orange to red, mouth-melting, aromatic). It continues in the middle of the season with Jumbocot (large, firm, orange, slightly tart), Kioto, Bergarouge and Royal du Roussillon, before ending with Orangé de Provence or Polonais (average size, oblong, orangey with red dots, smooth, mouth-melting, juicy pulp), Rouge du Roussillon (small, round, orangey with red spots, soft), Bergeron (large, oblong, deep orange, firm, fragrant, slightly tart), which is the largest variety (43% of French production). Variety enhancements focus on large sizes that are completely red outside.
Production and consumption
The European apricot harvest came to 543,500 tons in 2009 (+13% compared with 2008, when there was a major shortfall) including 216,500 tons for the leader, Italy, before France (about 176,000 tons), Spain (87,000 tons) and Greece (52,000 tons). The three largest French regions for production are Rhône-Alpes (49%),
Provence (29%) and Languedoc-Roussillon (22%). National consumption totalled 2.43 kg/household in 2009 (+75% in relation to 2008). Furthermore, the French food processing industry uses about 45,000 tons. (Sources: Interfel, TNS Worldpanel, Semmaris)
At Rungis Market
About 10,097 tons, including 1,580 tons of imports, were sold at the Market in 2009, compared with 6,900 tons in 2008 (+46%). “In French products, we mainly sell Orangered and Bergarouge, varieties recognized by their red colour,” explains Fabrice Minouflet, salesman for Clément et Fils. “On imports, we deal in Orangered and 503, a new Spanish variety that is quite juicy. We sell 700 packets a day of apricots, with peaks of up to 1,500 or even 2,000 packets a day in summer. We work with apricots until the beginning of September.”
