Belgian pears to Brazil starting September?

Currently, Belgian state secretary for foreign trade Pieter de Crem is on a mission in Brazil to promote several documents. This increases the possibility that Belgium may start exporting pears to this country. According to Veerle van der Sypt of Fresh Trade Belgium, an agreement with Brazil on pears was already expected last year, but it went slower than expected.

“De Crem already defended the pear document on a visit to Brazil last year, and he now picks up where he left off for a final push. Therefore it is a real possibility that the market opens in September, but we can, of course, only be certain when the final signature has been placed. Furthermore, we will then have to wait and see if any actual export will effectively happen. Portugal and Spain are the main exporters operating in Brazil. These countries also have varieties known there and export a fair volume.”

According to Van der Sypt it will be a challenge for Belgium to explain the distinctive appearance of Conference pears, and to have people taste the pear. “Due to its special bronze colour people from other continents think there is a problem with the pears. Bronze is, according to many, a sign of decay or a lack of quality.”

With permission, export will not happen overnight. “As part of VLAM, a promotional document is being prepared in order to introduce Conference pears in Brazil. If this is approved in autumn, the campaign could start in 2017 and get things going. The export figures of Dutch pears also indicate Brazil is not an obvious market. We therefore have to make a number of promotional efforts to really launch the pears in Brazil,” Van der Sypt concludes.