The 2015/16 Italian pear campaign is coming to an end.
According to the CSO, only a little produce was left in stocks on May 15th, 2016 - around 10,000 tons in Emilia-Romagna (almost 9,000 tons of Conference and over 1,000 of Abate) destined mainly to the domestic market.
The sales trend was in line with the past few years, except for last season, when sales were rather lively but drove prices down.
The sales of Abate pears were rather regular, and the situation was similar for the Kaiser variety.
For what concerns the Decana and, most of all, the Conference varieties, production was more abundant than in the past few years - +15% with respect to 2014/15 and + 7% with respect to 2013/14.
This though is not enough to justify the slower sales during the campaign, which could be due to the high volume of small Abate grades.
Source: CSO-Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli for FreshPlaza
The sales of Abate pears were rather regular, and the situation was similar for the Kaiser variety.
For what concerns the Decana and, most of all, the Conference varieties, production was more abundant than in the past few years - +15% with respect to 2014/15 and + 7% with respect to 2013/14.
This though is not enough to justify the slower sales during the campaign, which could be due to the high volume of small Abate grades.
Abate was the leading variety also for what concerns exports. Sales were regular during the first months of the campaign, also thanks to the good quality and shelf life of the product. They remained lively also after the Christmas period (when people tend to prefer other fruit), when foreign chains turned their attention to their own production. This enabled a better balance between demand and supply.
Prices increased starting through mid February and the French market showed more interest for the Italian product.
For what concerns the bigger grades, volumes were destined mainly to the domestic market, which had to select supplies to promote the fruit because of the limited volumes available.
Competition from Belgian-Dutch Conference pears was high as they had low prices and were destined to our same reference markets because of the Russian ban. Production from these areas has been increasing for years and has made things difficult especially since the Russian embargo continues to pose a problem for the European produce.
Prices increased starting through mid February and the French market showed more interest for the Italian product.
For what concerns the bigger grades, volumes were destined mainly to the domestic market, which had to select supplies to promote the fruit because of the limited volumes available.
Competition from Belgian-Dutch Conference pears was high as they had low prices and were destined to our same reference markets because of the Russian ban. Production from these areas has been increasing for years and has made things difficult especially since the Russian embargo continues to pose a problem for the European produce.
The campaign was therefore rather positive for what concerns both sales rhythm and quotations. Clearly though, the economic weight of the quantity of small grades will have to be assessed.
Source: CSO-Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli for FreshPlaza