Bumper fruit harvest expected after 'unusually warm' April

April was "unusually warm" in Belgium, according to the latest stats from the Royal Meteorological Institute, which is good news for the country's fruit producers.

Peak daytime temperatures recorded at the Uccle observatory averaged 17.7°C last month - compared to a norm of 14.2°C - and overnight lows were three degrees higher than normal at 8°C.

19 April was the hottest day of the month in Brussels at 28.1°C, not quite breaking the all-time April record of 28.7°C reached in 2007.

Rainfall was slightly higher than average at 66.3m. Almost half of that amount fell in a single day, last Sunday (29 April).

The warm spring weather means farmers are expecting this year's apple and pear harvest in Belgium - which starts in late August - to be exceptional, meaning lower prices for consumers.

2017 was disastrous for the fruit sector, with April frosts leading to the worst apple and pear harvest since 1991, down 60-70% on a normal year.