Representatives of Southern Hemisphere tree fruit producers report that their 2006 apple crop is 8 percent smaller than last year’s, but their pear crop is 9 percent larger. At the annual meeting of the World Apple and Pear Association in Berlin in February, industry groups in Chile, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and New Zealand estimated that their combined apple production this season will total 4 million tons, and their pear production will be 1.3 million tons. Stocks of European apples, as of January 1, 2006, totaled 2.6 million tons, an increase of 4 percent from the same time last […]