"You really have to look for quality pears."

The availability of Belgium's pears has finally come to an end. Says Jackie Boussier from Boussier exporters in Borgloon. "Available stock is limited so you really have to look for good pears and because of the warmer weather they are quickly loosing their quality. Standing at 20 degrees certainly has an effect but I believe that quality was better last year and sizes were bigger."

First picks were small
Jackie says that the first pears picked, which are now available, are very small. "There are a large amount of 45 and 50's which we can't do much with, and these are going to Russia. We knew that these would be small, but I really had not expected it to be so bad. For best prices you need to have really large pears. We are still exporting to Scandinavia and Germany."

He says that in recent weeks, prices have been quite stable. "It changes by a few cents, here and there. 55's are around 52 cent, 60's around 60 cent and 65's around 70 cent. Those are the prices for good quality pears." He does not expect prices to rise a lot. "It naturally depends on the weather and how the public react to the pears from overseas. I expect a large fall in pear prices, since most of the pears have cleared: As far as I can tell, we are further along than last year."

Next season
Everything is in full bloom for the next season. "We can't tell anything yet, but if you look at the amount of flowers, the harvest could be massive. Of course, it all depends on what mother nature does. A few nights of frost could change the whole situation."

For more information:
Jackie Boussier
Boussier N.V.
Colenstraat 11a
3840 Borgloon - Belgium
Tel: +32-12741991
www.belfrutex.be
jackie@boussier.be