Pear volumes have dropped in both Emilia Romagna and Veneto. FreshPlaza talked to Consorzio Opera for an assessment of the situation. The consortium produces over a quarter of the domestic production with 6700 hectares in 8 provinces.
Luca Granata
"Our partner technicians analyse the number and diameter of fruits every year to better estimate the next harvest. Of course it is still too early to make a reliable assessment in May but, according to our data, the 2019 harvest should be 30% lower than in 2018," explains director Luca Granata.
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"Current estimates for summer varieties such as Carmen, Williams and Max Red Bartlett reveal quantities should be similar or only slightly lower than 2018, while quantities of winter varieties such as Kaiser and Conference are expected to be much lower. Abate volumes seem to have remained more or less the same. More reliable data will anyway be available in early July."
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As for Opera, the current drop in production is significant, yet not as considerable as reported by estimates in the past few, which anyway only applied to the Ferrara province.
With these numbers, operators that will import high quantities of pears from the southern hemisphere could risk having excess produce, as the 2019 Italian production of summer pears does not seem too different from last year. For this reason, setting stocks aside based on May forecasts is premature.
"For example, some producers in Ferrara are even performing thinning operations as their production levels are normal. Bad weather, in fact, occurred after blossoming and therefore the effects depended on the variety and on the position and conditions of the various orchards."
Contacts
Opera Sca - Società Cooperativa Agricola
Via Bruno Tosarelli, 155
40055 Villanova di Castenaso (BO) - Italy
Tel.: +39 051 780201
Fax: +39 051 6062851
Email: info@operapera.it
Website: www.operapera.it