THE heatwave which swept through Europe in June and July 2006 meant that French stonefruit growers marketed slightly smaller volumes of produce than they had expected to, although the good weather pushed up demand until the first week of August and kept prices above production costs. "We had normal stocks last year and high-quality fruit, and as a result consumption was high," says Gwenaelle Lemaire of grower-exporter Chanabel. "As 2005 was an absolute disaster from start to finish, we felt it was about time the balance was redressed."
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