Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the experience acquired from the statistical survey on plantations of certain species of fruit trees, carried out by the Member States in 2007 in application of Directive 2001/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 SEC(2010)776 final
Date: 2010-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural statistics, fruit-growing, plantation, production capacity, report, statistics

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION  

Brussels, 28.6.2010 
COM(2010)340 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the experience acquired from the statistical survey on plantations of certain species of 
fruit trees, carried out by the Member States in 2007 in application  
of Directive 2001/109/EC of the European Parliament  
and of the Council of 19 December 2001 

SEC(2010)776 final 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the experience acquired from the statistical survey on plantations of certain species of 
fruit trees, carried out by the Member States in 2007 in application  
of Directive 2001/109/EC of the European Parliament  
and of the Council of 19 December 2001 

1. 

INTRODUCTION (SCOPE, BACKGROUND, NATIONAL LEGISLATION) 

The  Commission,  in  order  to  perform  the  tasks  conferred  upon  it  in  the  framework  of  the 
Common  Agriculture  Policy  (CAP)  and  by  the  European  Union  (EU)  provisions  governing 
the Common Organisation of the Market (CMO) in the fruit and vegetable sector, needs to be 
kept accurately informed of the production potential of plantations of the main species of fruit 
trees within the EU and to have available medium-term estimates of production and supply on 
the markets.  

A basic survey carried out every five years on the main orchard species of EU is the method 
currently  used  to  provide  information  on  some  of  the  factors  contributing  to  the  production 
potential of fruit tree plantations: varieties, age of the plants and the density of the plantations. 
Some  Member  States  make  use  of  this  opportunity  to  collect  data  on  other  factors,  such  as 
specialisation  of  the  farm,  technical  management  of  the  orchard,  labour  force  used,  storage 
and trade, etc. 

These  surveys  have  been  carried  out  since  1977.  The  2007  basic  survey  on  plantations  of 
certain  species  of  fruit  trees  was  carried  out  in  the  27  EU  Member  States  in  application  of 
Directive 2001/109/EC1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 
and in accordance with Commission Decision 2002/38/EC of 27 December 20012 setting out 
the  survey  parameters  and  laying  down  the  code  and  standard  rules  for  the  transcription,  in 
machine-readable form, of the data. 

In  accordance  with  Article  4(4)  of  Directive  2001/109/EC,  Member  States  shall  send  the 
Commission a methodological report on how the survey was carried out.  

The present report on experience acquired during the 2007 survey is submitted in accordance 
with  Article  7  of  Directive  2001/109/EC.  It  is  based  on  the  experience  of  the  Commission 
services, and in particular on the use of the data provided, and the comments and experience 
set  out  by  the  Member  States  in  the  methodological  report  (Art.  4(4)  of  Directive 
2001/109/EC). 

Under  the  terms  of  Article  4  of  Directive  No  2001/109/EC  Member  States  are  required  to 
notify  the  Commission  of  the  results  of  the  basic  survey  before  1  October  of  the  year 
following  the  reference  year.  The  dates  are  presented  in  Annex  1  to  this  report  (see 
Commission Staff Working Document). 

1 
2 

OJ L 13, 16.1.2002, p. 21. 
OJ L 16, 18.1.2002, p. 35. 

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The data from all Member States were transmitted in accordance with the rules and technical 
parameters set out in Commission Decision 2002/38/EC. 

2. 

COVERAGE AND CONTENT 

2.1. 

Species surveyed (from EU legislation and others) 

In  the  2007  basic  survey,  the  species  surveyed  in  each  Member  State  followed  the 
requirements  established  in  the  Annex  to  Directive  2001/109/EC,  and  were  presented  in 
Commission Decision 2008/690/EC of 4 August 20083. They are also mentioned in Annex 2 
to  this  report  (see  Commission  Staff  Working  Document).  Data  on  plantations  producing 
apples  and/or  pears  for  uses  other  than  dessert  fruit  were  sent  on  an  optional  basis  by 
Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland and Spain. 

2.2. 

Holdings (minimum threshold of holdings and/or orchards) 

According  to  Article  1(3)  of  Directive  2001/109/EC,  "the  survey  shall  apply  to  all  holdings 
with  an  area  planted  with  fruit  trees,  provided  that  the  fruit  produced  is  entirely  or  mainly 
intended for the market”. In practice, the situation differs from one Member State to another, 
ranging  from  no  threshold  (i.e.  all  holdings  are  surveyed)  to  a  threshold  established  at 
Member State level (for example 15 are in CZ, 50 in FR and 100 in LV). Furthermore, some 
Member States have changed their threshold from one survey to another. 

3. 

TYPE  OF  SURVEY,  ORGANISATION  OF  THE  SURVEY  AND  TIME  SCHEDULE 
(REFERENCE DATE) 

A table summarizing the national survey methods  is included in Annex 3 to this report (see 
Commission Staff Working Document). Methodologically, the most relevant characteristic of 
the 2007 survey is that it consisted of:  

(a) 

A  comprehensive  list  in  the  Czech  Republic,  Denmark,  Germany,  Ireland, 
Latvia,  Lithuania,  the  Netherlands,  Austria,  Slovenia,  Slovakia,  Finland, 
Sweden and the United Kingdom. 

(b) 

An area frame sampling in Spain, and  

(c) 

A farm sample survey in the other Member States. 

Some  Member  States  made  some  specific  remarks  on  the  survey,  the  manner  and  the 
conditions in which it has been developed and the results obtained. Some of these remarks are 
summarised in the following table. 

3 

OJ L 225, 23.8.2008, p. 14. 

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CZ  The survey was organized for the first time in the Czech Republic in 2007.  

Although  similar  surveys,  entitled  “Census  of  fruit  trees  and  bushes”,  had  been 
organized  in  the  past,  the  last  such  survey  took  place  in  1980.  Since  then,  the 
Czech Statistical Office has collected basic data on fruit production as part of the 
“Final crop production survey” and “Farm Structure Survey” (hereinafter FSS). 

The Orchard Survey which is the first one of its kind provides detailed information 
on the planting of fruit trees in the Czech Republic. 

EE  The  2007  Survey  on  the  Plantations  of  Fruit  Trees  was  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be 
carried  out  in  Estonia.  It  was  conducted  in  conjunction  with  the  2007  Farm 
Structure  Survey.  The  survey  characteristics  were  added  to  the  FSS  2007 
questionnaires as a separate section. No difficulties in the conducting of the survey 
were mentioned. Most of the varieties are local.  

IE  A  significant  amount  of  additional  information,  for  national  purposes  only,  was 

collected.  

This included: 

(a)  Whether the grower was a participant in a quality assurance scheme 

(b)  Whether the grower was a member of a producer organisation 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

Details of the numbers of employees 

Details of the production facilities and harvesting techniques 

Details of typical yields and value of yields 

Details of the grower's market outlets  

Details of the grower's future development plans 

Details of organic apple production yields and value 

IT  The  orchard  survey  has  been  carried  out  in  Italy  since  1977  and  it  represents  an 

important point of reference for the fruit tree sector.  

The  orchard  surveys  were  carried  out  at  five-yearly  intervals  between  1977  and 
2007.  

The  aim  of  the  survey  is  to  collect  detailed  information  on  the  areas  of  the  main 
holdings with fruit trees and the relative productive potential, in order to orientate 
the  market.  In  addition  to  responding  to  the  EU  (Directive  2001/109/EC),  the 
survey  provides  data  for  use  in  estimating  the  national  accounts.  Moreover,  it 
provides  information  on  the  structure  and  production  of  the  holdings  and  on  the 
impact of the policy on the sector; it also enables the list of agricultural holdings to 
be updated. 

GR  The orchard survey includes all the agricultural holdings in which one or more of 
the eight species of fruit trees that were mentioned are cultivated in regular groves. 

Regular  groves  are  areas  under  trees,  which  are  planted  in  a  particular 
arrangement, and constituting compact groves with a proportional number of trees 
per  stremma,  depending  on  the  system  of  plantation  that  is  used  (thin  planting, 
dense  planting,  e.g.  PALMETA  in  the  apples  and  pears,  etc).  Regular  groves  are 
divided into UNMIXED and MIXED regular groves. 

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Unmixed regular groves are those that are planted with only one of the species of 
fruit trees, e.g. only peach trees or only apple trees, and so on.  

Mixed regular groves are regular groves that are planted with more than one specie 
of  trees  together,  e.g.  orange  trees  with  olives,  or  pear  trees  with  apple  trees,  or 
peach trees with cherry trees etc, and the trees of the one type of species are found 
between the trees of the  other  types in some  ordered and not completely  random 
arrangement. Also, the specie with the fewer trees should cover at least 1/10 of the 
stremma.  If  the  trees  of  this  specie  do  not  cover  1/10  of  the  stremma,  they  are 
considered to be scattered, even if they are found in a regular arrangement. For a 
mixed grove to be characterized as regular, what is important is not that the trees in 
the grove are all of the same family, but that the trees of various species constitute 
a compact regular grove. 

ES  The type of survey is a territorial area frame survey (MAST – Marco de Áreas y 
Segmentos Territoriales), which has been used in Spain since the beginning of the 
1990s.  The  surveyors  belong  to  a  company  that  manages  the  field  work  of  the 
Spanish agrarian insurance system and they work on a yearly basis on the MAST 
survey. 

FR  The  survey  makes  it  possible  to  better  identify  and  describe  the  factors  that 
influence the production potential of the orchards, such as variety, age, plantation 
densities, etc. These characteristics are essential in order to make proper forecasts 
(volume and time schedule of production).  

The  questionnaire  also  includes  three  further  groups  of  questions  in  addition  to 
those required by the EU:  

1. 
A  knowledge  of  the  marketed  volumes  of  production  and  of  the  principal 
sale  circuits  used  by  the  fruit  producers  was  another  objective  of  the  survey. 
However, this is only a partial study of the fruit marketing circuit at the stage of 
the initial setting up in the market, and not of the total activity of those involved in 
marketing. 

2. 

Additional information on the cultivation of the orchards.  

To collect information on the permanent labour force and on the seasonal or 

3. 
occasional labour force used by the fruit growing holdings.  

The main goals of the survey are therefore to have data on the following points:  

• 

• 

• 

the production structures: location, size, specialisation of uses, land use;  

the permanent and seasonal labour force;  

the storage capacity for fruit;  

the  cultivation  methods  as  regards  irrigation,  protection  against  weather 

• 
conditions such as frost, the specifications implemented for the different species;  

the  area,  density  and  age  of  the  plantation,  the  surveyed  production 

• 
potential by variety of each specie;  

the production and the distribution chains from the holding (first placing on 

• 
the market) by specie;  

• 

the main agriculture practices for maintenance of the orchard. 

HU  As in 2001, cadastre maps of the sampled municipalities helped the enumerators to 

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identify each orchard during the field survey. Additionally, orthophotos (provided 
by the Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing) were available for 
municipalities having at least five orchards. These orthophotos made it possible the 
correctly identify and distinguish each orchard based on the indication of the limits 
between them. 

In order to identify the varieties, a handbook containing their description together 
with colour photographs/pictures was provided to the enumerators. The description 
comprises, among others, the features of the fruit, the ripening period, the shape of 
the tree and its growing characteristics. All of this information contributed to the 
professional and qualitative identification of the varieties. 

The questionnaires were pre-printed with data in 2007. 

All  the  data  surveyed  in  2001  were  included  on  the  2007  questionnaire. 
• 
Only  the  abovementioned  codes  were  used  for  recording  on  the  questionnaire. 
Only  those  data-cells  where  there  were  changes  compared  to  the  previous 
information  had  to  be  completed.  The  form  had  a  special  column  for  entering 
changes. Where the data were the same for both years, the data-cell in the special 
column had to be left blank.  

In the case of the orchards planted after 2001, only certain information was 
• 
available  from  the  MARD-CAO,  namely  the  identification  number  of  the 
plantation, the gross area, the code of the species and the holder's data. Only these 
data  were  able  to  be  pre-printed  on  the  questionnaires.  Obviously,  all  other 
information had to be completed on the form; only updating of the pre-printed data 
was possible, as the data had changed since the time of planting. 

During the implementation phase (field survey) the presence of the holder was not 
necessary.  Nevertheless,  in  the  case  of  certain  items,  such  as  varieties  in  the 
orchard, estimated grubbing year, etc., the holders might have been able to provide 
more  reliable  information.  To  this  end  the  enumerators  contacted  the  holder  in 
many cases and they completed the forms together. This latter approach also made 
it possible to update the data on the holder. 

Estimated area of the plantations under apple, pear, peach and apricot trees, 2007 

Fruit species 

Estimated area (ha)  Variance, % 

Apple 

Pear 

Peach 

Apricot 

34 906 

2 878 

5 787 

5 216 

0.9824 

0.5267 

1.5462 

1.3635 

The aggregated county, regional and national level data were compared to those of 
the annual statistics on fruit production and of the previous years. 

MT  The  data  were  collected  using  the  FSS,  as  Malta  only  needed  to  collect  the  total 

area under peach trees. 

PL  The first orchard survey in Poland was conducted in 1998, and the second in 2004. 
Both  surveys  were  carried  out  to  meet  national  needs,  but  in  most  cases  they 
followed  the  EU  methodology.  They  were  similar  to  the  current  2007  survey  on 
plantations of certain species of fruit trees, but the results were not transmitted to 
Eurostat,  as  Poland  was  not  required  to  transmit  these  data.  In  2007,  the  third 

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orchard  survey  according  to  EU  requirements  was  conducted,  and  in  April  2008 
the  results  were  forwarded  to  Eurostat.  The  survey  satisfied  not  only  Eurostat's 
needs, but also national needs. 

The main aim of the last survey (in 2007) was to obtain data on dessert apples and 
dessert pears by net area, variety, age of the trees and density of the plantation, as 
well  as  data  on  peaches  and  apricots  by  net  area.  The  scope  of  the  survey  was 
extended  to  include  characteristics  for  the  needs  of  national  users,  namely  other 
species of fruit trees and bushes and berry plantations. Some information about the 
holder and holding was also the included in the survey. 

The  survey  considered  only  the  holdings  which  produce  fruit  that  is  entirely  or 
mainly intended for the market. 

Additional  characteristics  were  collected  for  national  needs  only.  These  included 
the  area  and  number  of  fruit  trees  by  age  classes  and  production  of  fruit  for  the 
following  species:  plum  trees,  sour  and  sweet  cherry  trees,  apricot  trees,  peach 
trees and walnut trees, and also apple trees by type of rootstock (dwarf, semi-dwarf 
and hard-growing). 

Area  and  number  of  fruit  bushes  and  area  of  berry  plantations  -  for  national 
purposes  –  for  the  following  species:  Hazel,  Gooseberry,  Redcurrant  (colourful), 
Blackcurrant,  Raspberry,  Strawberry,  Garden  strawberry,  Chokeberry,  Blueberry, 
Grapevine and Other fruit bushes and berry plants. 

PT  As  environmental  concerns  are  becoming  an  increasingly  important  issue  at 
national and European level, Portugal included some specific characteristics in the 
questionnaire.  These  included  contributing  to  sustainable  agriculture  and  some 
questions concerning environmental behaviour, in particular by identifying a set of 
growing  practices  used  in  the  production  of  the  fruit,  related  to  soil  management 
and the protection of the crops. The irrigated area, the level/nature of production, 
the production system and some production techniques have been surveyed. 

Because users have a considerable interest in knowing how the fruit is sent to the 
market,  a  question  on  the  way  in  which  the  production  is  marketed  was  also 
included. 

RO  Pursuant  to  Council  Directive  2006/110/EC  Romania  was  granted  a  derogation 
from reporting data for: species, age group and density of plantations. Bearing this 
derogation in mind and taking into account the national requirements, as part of the 
abovementioned survey data have been collected on the following: area of young 
and in bearing plantations, area of plantations on the wane, area newly planted in 
2007,  area  of  cleared  plantations,  productivity  and  total  production  for  the 
following trees species: apples, pears, apricots, sweet cherries and cherries, plums, 
peaches,  walnuts,  other  trees  (hazelnuts,  chestnuts,  quinces).  As  an  experiment, 
data  were  collected  on  the  density  of  the  in  bearing  plantations  and  those  on  the 
wane, and on the density of young plantations. These data were collected as part of 
the annual survey on plant production for the main crops, for which the National 
Statistical Institute was responsible. 

The survey on plant production for the main crops is based on a sample of 80,000 
agricultural  holdings,  representing  the  development  regions  level  (NUTS  2)  and 
county level (NUTS 3). 

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FI 

In Finland these data can be reliably obtained using a range of different sources, as 
all  sources  use  the  same  identification  numbers.  Published  statistics  can  be 
regarded  as  reliable,  as  they  are  primarily  based  on  full-sample  register  data. 
Telephone interviews helped to boost the response rate. 

Most of the data for the Apple Orchard Statistics were obtained from the Integrated 
Administration  and  Control  System  (IACS)  registers  of  the  Finnish  Agency  for 
Rural  Affairs.  Municipal  rural  business  authorities  enter  most  of  these  data  from 
the subsidy forms returned by farmers registered in their municipality. The Act on 
the Rural Business Register (1515/1994) requires municipal authorities to keep the 
data in this register confidential. Tike (the Finish Agricultural Statistical Service) 
maintains  the  Rural  Business  Register,  and  has  the  right  to  use  administrative 
registers for the production of statistics. 

When  estimating  potential  production  volume,  estimates  based  on  the  number  of 
trees are more precise than those based on acreage. Farmers also find it easier to 
categorise the number, variety and age of their trees than to categorise acreage or 
planting density. 

On  the  basis  of  the  2002  statistics  and  conversations  with  the  industry  interest 
group,  it  was  decided  to  request  information  on  variety  (and  on  acreage)  for 
commercially  significant  varieties  only.  The  variety  list  for  the  2007  survey  was 
drawn up on the basis of the most significant varieties in 2002 (22 varieties). Two 
new  varieties  (Rubinola  and  Rajka)  were  also  added,  as  they  were  seen  as  being 
increasingly  significant.  Due  to  its  northern  latitude,  Finland’s  apple  varieties 
differ  substantially  from  those  grown  in  continental  Europe,  and  many  of  the 
varieties grown in Finland are no longer significant for commercial agriculture 

SE  The  final  deadline  for  the  survey  was  set  at  26  March. By  that  date,  76%  of  the 
holdings had replied to the survey. The statistics division of the Swedish Board of 
Agriculture considers this result unsatisfactory. Discussions about how to increase 
the response rate in the future have been initiated. 

The  frame  of  the  Survey  on  Plantation  of  Certain  Fruit  Trees  is  represented  by 
holdings which, according to the Statistical Farm Register (LBR), cultivate apple 
and/or  pear  trees,  and  also  holdings  which,  according  to  IACS,  applied  for 
subsidies  for  fruit  cultivation  of  a  minimum  of  0.25  hectares  in  2007.  The  target 
population for the survey were the holdings with plantations of apples and/or pear 
trees of a minimum of 0.25 hectares. All in all, the frame population of the 2007 
survey consisted of 369 holdings. 

Based  on  comments  made  by  the  holdings,  either  via  the  questionnaire  or  by 
phone,  it  can  be  concluded  that  the  questionnaire  was  considered  difficult  to 
answer. The possibility of simplifying the survey was therefore discussed towards 
the  end  of  the  survey  period.  A  suggestion  was  made  in  the  Swedish  Board  of 
Agriculture that, in future, Sweden ought to be exempted from the requirement to 
survey pears due to the small quantities of pears grown in Sweden. 

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4. 

SURVEY CHARACTERISTICS  

4.1. 

Orchard area considered 

In general, the net area of the regular orchard should be considered. However, some Member 
States  took  the  gross  area.  In  a  very  few  cases,  at  least  some  dispersed  trees  were  also 
included. 

4.2. 

Varieties surveyed (from EU legislation and other legislation) 

An  analysis  of  the  proportion  of  the  individual  varieties  within  a  given  species  reveals 
considerable developments linked to changes in consumer preferences.  

All Member States provided data on each variety that represented more than 3% of the area of 
the species. 

4.3. 

Age 

For all Member States, the age of trees was calculated from the time of their planting in the 
orchard (autumn or spring). 

4.4. 

Density 

For most Member States, the density of plantation was calculated based on the area planted 
and for some Member States, such as Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France, Austria and Poland, 
density was calculated on the basis of the number of trees per hectare. 

4.5. 

Other characteristics 

Some Member States collected data on other characteristics. For example France and Austria 
collected data on the organic production and marketing network. The data collected by France 
included data on soil work, fertilisation, plant protection practices, age of the holder, total size 
of the holding and specialisation, Poland on berries and cherries, etc.. 

5. 

DATA COLLECTION AND DATA PROCESSING (CONTROL OF THE DATA) 

The  results  of  the  survey  received  in  Eurostat  were  uploaded  into  a  production  database, 
where they were validated before being uploaded in the dissemination database. 

6. 

USE OF THE DATA (DATA DISSEMINATION) 

The results of the 2007 survey, as for the previous 2002 survey, are available free of charge 
through Eurostat’s dissemination database for all users having an Internet access. 

7. 

MAIN FINDINGS: ANALISYS OF THE RESULTS 

Some summary results of the 2007 survey are presented in Annex 4 (see Commission Staff 
Working Document). The analysis excludes cooking apples and pear, as the areas under this 
species are not significant. On a specie basis, the most important findings can be summarised 
as follows: 

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80% of the EU-27 orchard area occupied by the species surveyed was concentrated in Spain, 
Italy, Poland, Greece and France. Apple trees are the most common fruit trees cultivated in 
EU-27, covering around one third of the surveyed area. Citrus trees (orange, lemon and small 
citrus fruit) together cover another third of the EU-27 area. 

The enlargements to EU-27 produced a substantial increase in the area under table apples and 
a smaller increase in the other areas surveyed. The area under apple trees increased more than 
2.4 times, mainly due to the addition of the Polish4 and Romanian apple orchards. Pear and 
peach tree areas increased by 17% and 13% respectively. The 27% increase of the apricot area 
was more significant. For citrus fruits, the increase in area due to the last two enlargements is 
not significant (around 1%). 

In  EU-27,  the  main  growers  of  apple  trees  are  Poland  (165,715  ha),  Romania  (60,494  ha), 
Italy  (55,225  ha)  and  France  (40,113  ha).  The  total  EU-15  area  of  apple  tree  orchards 
decreased by 11% between the two surveys. The area in Italy showed a slight increase, while 
the area in France decreased by 16%. 

The largest areas of pear tree orchards in EU-27 are found in Italy (32,075 ha), Spain (25,845 
ha),  Portugal  (9,228  ha)  and  Belgium  (7,225  ha).  The  total  EU-15  area  under  pear  trees 
decreased by almost 13% during the period 2002-2007.  

In  EU-27,  the  largest  areas  under  peach  trees  are  in  Spain  (75,118  ha),  Italy  (63,754  ha), 
Greece (34,127 ha) and France (14,308 ha). Spain and Italy together account for two thirds of 
the total EU-27 area. Spain is the only EU-15 Member State where the peach tree orchard area 
increased; as a result, the total EU-15 area under peach trees declined by around 6%. 

The largest area of apricot tree orchards is found in Spain (18,700 ha), followed by Italy (15, 
649 ha), France (13,804 ha) and Hungary (4,999 ha). Spain and Italy have more than half of 
the total EU-27 area under apricot tree orchards. The total area in Italy stayed almost constant, 
and decreased in all other Member States, with the exception of the significant increase (by 
26%) experienced by Austria. 

Spain  has  around  55%  of  the  EU-27  area  of  orange  tree  orchards  (158,824  ha).The  area  of 
73,786 ha in Italy represents one quarter of the entire EU-27 area. The other Member States 
where orange orchards are surveyed are Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and France, which together 
account  for  only  20%  of  the  orange  tree  orchards  in  EU-27.  The  total  EU-15  orange  tree 
orchard  area  increased  by  10%  between  2002  and  2007,  due  to  the  increases  in  Spain  and 
Portugal. The other Member States experienced small decreases in the orange orchard areas. 

The 39,859 ha of lemon tree orchards in Spain represent more than 60% of the EU-27 area. 
The second largest area of lemon tree orchards (16,634 ha) belongs to Italy, which accounts 
for around one quarter of the EU-27 area. The third largest area is in Greece (8%). The areas 
in Cyprus, Portugal and France make up only a very small share of the EU-27 area (around 
1% or less in each Member State). As only the area in Portugal increased, while all the other 
areas  decreased,  the  overall  impact  in  EU-15  was  a  decrease  in  the  total  area  under  lemon 
trees. 

4 

A large part of this area produces apples that are processed and so includes not only "dessert apples" as 
requested in Directive 2001/109. This is due to the impossibility of distinguishing between those areas 
planted for dessert and those areas planted for processing in Poland. 

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Spain has 116,225 ha under small citrus fruit trees, which accounts for three quarters of the 
EU-27 area of small citrus fruit tree orchard. The next largest grower is Italy with only 21,998 
ha,  which  represents  around  15%  of  the  total  EU-27  area.  The  area  increased  in  Spain  and 
Greece, and decreased in Italy by approximately the same amount. As a result, the small citrus 
fruit orchard area remained more or less constant overall. 

Between 1997 and 2002 the EU-15 orchard area declined by approximately 187,700 ha (15% 
in relative terms). This decline was particularly noticeable in the case of apple and peach trees 
(both  in  absolute  values  and  in  relation  to  the  total  area  under  these  species).  There  was  an 
increase, on the  other hand, in small-fruited citrus trees (resulting mainly from a significant 
increase  in  Spain).  With  the  exception  of  Finland,  areas  under  fruit  trees  decreased  in  all 
Member States. This downward trend also continued between 2002 and 2007. 

The  total  surveyed  orchard  area  in  EU-15  declined  by  37,621  ha  (4%  in  relative  terms) 
between 2002 and 2007. The area under orange trees increased by 10%, and the area under 
small  citrus  fruit  stayed  approximately  constant.  The  rest  of  the  fruit  tree  areas  experienced 
declines  of  between  5%  and  13%.On  a  Member  State  (EU  15)  basis,  the  most  important 
findings can be summarised as follows: 

In  some  Member  States,  the  total  surveyed  area  increased.  The  total  surveyed  orchard  area 
increased in Denmark (by 6%), Austria (by 4%) and Spain (by 3%). In Denmark, all the areas 
surveyed (apple and pear trees) increased. In Austria, the peach tree orchard area decreased by 
one  quarter,  while  all  the  other  areas  surveyed  saw  an  increase.  There  was  also  a  sizeable 
increase  in  the  apricot  orchard  area  (26%).  In  Spain,  there  was  a  significant  increase  in  the 
area under orange trees (21%), and a less important increase in the areas under peach tees and 
small  citrus  fruit  trees.  The  other  surveyed  areas  declines,  and  the  decline  was  especially 
significant in the area under apple trees (a decrease of one third).  

Some  other  Member  States  experienced  a  decrease  in  the  total  surveyed  area,  as  well  as  a 
decline for all of the species of fruit tree surveyed. The total area declined quite significantly 
in  France,  Finland,  Sweden  and  the  United  Kingdom  (by  between  15  and  20%),  while  in 
Luxembourg  the  plantations  of  fruit  trees  producing  for  the  market  disappeared  almost 
entirely. In Germany and Ireland, there was only a very small decrease (of less than 1%) in 
the total surveyed area. 

In  the  remaining  Member  States,  the  total  orchard  area  occupied  by  the  surveyed  species 
decreased,  although  there  was  an  increase  for  some  of  the  species  surveyed.  In  Greece,  for 
example, the area under small citrus fruit trees increased by one third, whereas all the other 
areas decreased. In Italy the total area decreased by 8%. It experienced a slight increase in the 
apple and apricot orchard areas, and declines in the other types of orchard areas. The fall was 
quite large in the areas under small citrus fruit trees (22%), pear trees (17%) and peach trees 
(13%).  Portugal  experienced  a  large  increase  in  the  area  under  lemon  trees,  while  all  other 
areas decreased, some of them substantially (peach and apricot). In Belgium and Netherlands, 
the total area decreased by around 4%, due to the combined effect of the decrease in the apple 
tree orchard area and the increase in the pear tree orchard area. 

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8. 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Compared  with  the  former  surveys,  the  progress  made  since  2002  regarding  "the  area  of 
orchard  considered"  is  to  be  noticed.  Again  almost  all  Member  States  sent  the  2007  survey 
results in terms of net orchard area (“net area” means surface solely occupied by trees). 

With  the  improvements  mentioned  above,  particularly  in  relation  to  the  common  use  of  the 
concept  of  net  areas,  the  2007  survey  can  be  considered  satisfactory  in  overall  terms.  With 
regard  to  future  surveys,  consideration  should  be  given  to  updating  the  list  of  varieties  and 
codes, and to harmonising the thresholds. The identification of synergies with other statistical 
operations and/or use of administrative sources should be explored.  

Summarising the considerations presented in the national reports from the Member States, the 
Commission  can  conclude  that  the  Member  States  experienced  no  major  difficulties  in 
carrying  out  the  survey.  This  survey  provides  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  EU  orchard  for  the 
seven  species  under  consideration  (and  even  more  in  some  Member  States)  in  the  EU 
legislation. 

In  addition,  it  can  be  said  that  most  of  the  Member  States  consider  the  survey  to  be  very 
useful, in that it provides not only information on a very important agricultural sector, but also 
information that is very useful for other statistical purposes, such as agricultural accounts. 

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