World Apple and Pear Association facts for kids
The World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) is a special group that started in 2001. It brings together countries that grow lots of apples and pears around the world. WAPA helps these countries talk to each other. They also share important facts about growing and selling these fruits. In 2007, people grew 66 million tonnes of apples and 20.5 million tonnes of pears worldwide! WAPA's main office is in Brussels, Belgium.
What WAPA Does
WAPA gives its members a place to talk about challenges. They discuss things that affect countries growing apples and pears. They also talk about selling these fruits all over the world. WAPA shares information about the fruit market. It helps everyone use the same words when talking about data. This makes it easier for fruit growers to understand each other.
WAPA is also in charge of guessing how many apples and pears will be grown. They make these predictions for both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere includes places like Europe and North America. The Southern Hemisphere includes places like Australia and South America. WAPA shares its guess for the Southern Hemisphere in February. They share their guess for the Northern Hemisphere in August.
The world of apple and pear business is always changing. Because of this, WAPA has found new important goals. WAPA wants its members to work together. They want to make more people want to buy apples and pears by:
- Sharing scientific facts about how good apples and pears are for you. This helps more people want to eat them.
- Helping growers use the best ways to grow fruit. This makes sure the fruit is super good and what people expect.
- Talking about how to sell fruit better. They work closely with big supermarkets to make apples and pears popular.
Who Can Join WAPA
Any country that grows apples and pears to sell fresh can join WAPA. Each country needs to pick one main group to represent its apple and pear growers. This group must represent most of the growers in that country.
Right now, these countries are members of WAPA:
