For years, fruit exporter Kees Oskam was involved with gaining market access for Dutch pears to Brazil. After some delays, the export is now possible under strict conditions, but partly due to the Brazilian real declining to a new low, the export of Dutch pears is currently out of the question. "Our pears are becoming too expensive now."
"The general pear export is going reasonably well, and all the European destinations are playing along: from Germany to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Southern Europe. Of course I got in touch with Brazil, but when I mention prices, the other end of the line goes pretty quiet. Even though Portugal is dealing with a sharp reduction in the Rocha pear harvest, being forced to ask for higher prices, the export of our pears is still out of the question. And if I can make more money in Europe, without the tight restrictions, I'm not sending any pears to Brazil," Kees concludes.
Demands, regarding the fruit moth, are made of the pears for exports to Brazil. Based on these requirements, only those plots are eligible that have been registered for export to China, and that meet the demands that apply to that (including biweekly monitoring, application of mating disruption / traps). "Not that many pears are available that meet these requirements. I have sufficient export-ready pears available, but the question is whether we can do something with them for the Brazilian market this season."
The pear price is at a reasonable level at the moment, so Kees is definitely not unhappy. "Demand is reasonably good and broad, the price is a bit under pressure at the moment, but I expect it will stabilize within a week to ten days."
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