Lorraine: Mirabelle plum harvest begins, producers announce a positive year

The mirabelle plum season is officially underway, and this year, the fruit is thriving. This Wednesday, harvesting began in Lorraine, which supplies 70% of France's produce.

In an orchard in Rozelieures, in Meurthe-et-Moselle , Vincent Dupic's basket gradually fills. He is a man of gesture.

"We've been producing mirabelle plums for eight generations. I've been doing it since I was little, I was immersed in it," he confided to RMC.

This herb grower now trains the thirty or so seasonal workers who come each summer to harvest the fruit by hand on the family farm. He takes the opportunity to offer his best advice.

"Mirabelle plums should be yellow. The idea is to explain to them what you could buy in a store. A mirabelle plum you could eat is a mirabelle plum you could pick," he says.

It will take a month to harvest all of the ripe fruit. For Sabine Grallet-Dupic, the landowner, this is always a great satisfaction. A period that marks "a whole year's work."

"We prune the trees, we mow between the paths, we monitor them, and this is the result. For us, it's a lot of fun," she smiles.

Especially since the harvests are looking good this season. The first trucks have arrived at the Végafruit cooperative, which brings together 200 mirabelle plum producers from Lorraine. A total of 5,000 tons are expected.

Katharina Dée, sales manager, is one of the first to be able to grab the fruit before it is sold.

"For now, everything is going well in the orchards. The first fruits we've received are really good quality. They're already a nice color and a good sugar level," she says happily after observing the bins filled with mirabelles.

Good news for consumers: this quality shouldn't lead to a price increase on the shelves. Because quantity is also there.