“We have had a good picking period. It was neither too hot nor too cold and we had a little shower now here and there, but the pears have been picked and are in the fridges,” says Wendy Bangels of BP Fruitcraft. “Before the start of the harvest, there was some stress among the growers about how picking the fruit would go with all the corona measures that had to be taken, but everything went smoothly.”
Bangels is very positive about the quality of the pears. “The pears are nice and hard and the taste is wonderfully sweet due to the amount of sun they have had. Unlike the apples, the pears have no sunburn damage. There are some plots here and there that have been affected, but those are really very small percentages. For pears, on the other hand, it is important that they are picked on time, but about 80 to 90% of the pears are in, so the battle is almost won. "
Tim Pittevils and Wendy Bangels from BP Fruitcraft
“The market situation is positive. The market is virtually empty, so sizes 55 and above are currently selling at decent prices. Sizes 45 and 50 are still a bit behind, but when the programmes start, the demand and prices of these sizes will also increase,” says Wendy.
"The way it is looking at the moment, the expectations for the coming period are very good,” said the grower and trader. “The quality of the pears is superb and I think that every consumer who buys pears now will continue to buy them. September is traditionally a month in which everything gets going again after the summer. The schools have just started again and people still have some summer fruit in the garden. From October onward everything has to running at 100% again.”
Despite the fact that Italy has a large harvest of Abate Fetel again this year, Wendy is not afraid that the Conference will disappear from the German supermarkets. “The Conference has secured its place on the German shelves. I don't expect it to be thrown off the shelf just because there are more Abates this year. I think most retailers will keep both lines open and will put the two varieties next to each other on the shelves. ”
“I hope that every grower will monitor their pears properly this year and that immediate action will be taken if storage is not perfect. Together we have to maintain the quality of the pears, by selling the different lots on time if necessary. It is very important that consumers maintain confidence in the Conference pear. Only then can we all earn a good living,” Wendy concludes.
For more information:
Wendy Bangels
BP FruitCraft 
Heerstraat 16A
3470 Kortenaken
Tel.: +32 (0) 470 95 10 32
wendy@bpfruitcraft.com
www.bpfruitcraft.com