Frost hinders market for summer pear Belle de Jumet/Honey belle

Vogelaar Fruitcultures is busy harvesting summer pears. For some years now, they’ve invested in the cultivation of Belle de Jumet, internationally known as Honey belle. “It’s a very sweet, small pear that has a red blush. Right now Belle de Jumet/Honey belle is the only flavourful pear. Other early pears are also on the market, but they are generally still much too raw,” says Martijn Vogelaar from Vogelaar Fruitcultures and Fruvo. The Honey belle is a well-known cultivation in New Zealand, the original French name Belle de Jumet, however, indicates the Western European origin, the town of Jumet in Walloon, Belgium. “We have reintroduced the cultivation, and this variety can also be grown well in the Netherlands. It’s early-ripening, and has a fair production for a summer pear. Unfortunately, we’ve been affected by frost damages this year, and as a result, we can’t sell the harvest to retail,” Martijn says. “There’s not enough volume this year, unfortunately.”

It’s a disappointment for the sales company Fruvo, which introduced Belle de Jumet/Honey belle on the market. The summer pear has market potential, but because of frost damage they can’t be traded. Martijn: “Honey belle is a registered brand name. There’s no cooperation, but by also growing the pear in Europe, Honey belle will become better known. Moreover, the production periods on both continents complement each other. The harvest in New Zealand is in January, and ours starts in August.”

Belle de Jumet/Honey belle's major advantage is that it arrives on an empty market in Europe. “From September, other varieties have plenty of volume available. We want to position the Belle de Jumet/Honey belle now in the market as a unique product, although the pear is excellent to store until January.”

Fruvo started marketing the new pear variety five years ago. “Since the first year, we exported to retail in the UK. They were already importing Belle de Jumet/Honey belle from New Zealand, and are therefore familiar with it. In the last few years, Belle de Jumet/Honey belle also found its way to the Dutch retail. Retail is interested in these kinds of distinctive products, but the volume is too limited this year to sell through retail. Most are sent to the UK and France,” Martijn says. “For the Dutch market, it’s probably not well-known enough yet.”

More extreme weather circumstances (spring frost and hail) and scarcity on the labour market for seasonal workers force nurseries to look for a better spread in varieties, so that the blossoming and harvesting periods are more varied. Belle de Jumet is an addition for the early pear market. An alternative to Conference, which is filling up the Netherlands and Belgium, however, hasn’t been found yet. For Doyenne du Comice, Xenia is a good alternative. Martijn: “Xenia has a longer shelf life than Comice. Xenia remains green longer, and therefore experiences less loss.” The influence of the spring frost on the pear harvest isn’t too bad compared to that of apples, according to Martijn. “Conference is hanging fairly well. We also have the option of keeping them on the trees longer, so that we are less affected by harvest reduction.” Damages to apples are significant, 70 per cent of the harvest was lost, especially for growers who don’t have fresh water at their disposal to protect the blossom.

The Russian boycott is also still leaving its traces on the market, although these are becoming less severe and slightly alternative markets have been found by now. Trade with China is only slowly starting.

Concerns about the apple market are larger than about the pear market. Seventy per cent of the apples is damaged by frost, and we are greatly bothered by competition from Eastern European growers who can produce much cheaper. “A considerable amount of subsidies and knowledge is going to the apple cultivation in Eastern Europe, and that is now coming back to Western Europe, like a boomerang. Hopefully, Dutch consumers will choose Dutch apples and pears to boost the market,” Martijn concludes.