Interfel: French apples reach GCC shelves after heat and drought hit harvest

France’s freshly picked apples are now on retail shelves across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the French Fruits and Vegetables Trade Association Interfel said in a statement released in Dubai on Tuesday. In-store tastings and consumer events are planned for the season.

Interfel expects French growers to bring in 221,000 tonnes of Gala this year and 167,000 tonnes of Pink Lady, alongside other varieties. For the 2026/27 season, Gulf consumers will be able to choose between sweeter types such as Gala and Rubis Gold, tangier ones including Granny Smith and Kissabel, and apples with a distinct profile of their own, among them Pink Lady, Inored Story and Juliet.

Weather made the year hard for orchards throughout Europe. Winter was colder than usual, while summer brought drought and temperatures above the norm. Latest projections by the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) put total apple production in the European Union for 2026 at 9.496 million tonnes, of which France would account for roughly 1.162 million tonnes.

Daniel Sauvaitre, President of the French Fruits and Vegetables Trade Association Interfel and himself a fruit grower from Charente, acknowledged that spells of intense heat and dryness had tested producers. He pointed to one upside, however: the crop’s “exceptionally high sugar levels”, which he said the association expects to show in the flavour of the fruit.

Sauvaitre described the Gulf region as an important outlet for French apples. Reaction to European Fruits & Veg Grown with Care, the EU-funded campaign carried out with Interfel under which this season’s GCC activities take place, showed how keen shoppers are to try new varieties, he said.

FranceAgriMer data quoted by Interfel show that the United Arab Emirates spent about €5.2 billion on imported fruit and vegetables in 2025, a category making up 20.9% of all its agricultural and agri-food imports.