After a quieter autumn holiday week, most pear growers appear to have restarted their sorting lines. "You can see that a bit more is coming onto the market again, but it is still a season of trial and error," says grower Bert Morren of the family fruit company.
© Fruitbedrijf Morren
"At the start, prices were good. Everyone always wants the first pears," he continues. "But after that, things slowed down. Many growers brought later-picked pears straight to market, so there was a lot of supply. Then, last week, with the autumn holidays, things quieted down again, which was reflected in the prices. Now they seem to be recovering slightly, although of course things could always be better. There were simply more pears than expected, probably for everyone."
The grower from Kortenaken, Flanders, also harvested slightly more than expected. Although he initially thought the yield would be below the record harvest many were predicting, Bert's crop turned out to be above average. He is satisfied with the quality of the pears themselves. "The size is fine. It was quite dry, so they stayed a bit smaller. Only some of the later-picked pears suffered damage from the August heat and sun. Especially the last batches were affected. We fortunately started picking on time, but in hindsight, we should have moved a bit faster than planned."
Looking ahead to the coming weeks, he hopes for a slight improvement. "By now, most of the poorer batches are out, and I'm hearing that demand is picking up again. So hopefully prices will improve a bit, though we'll have to wait and see. The weather also plays a big role. With this warm weather, consumption isn't really increasing, and for now it doesn't look like it will cool down soon, but hopefully towards the New Year it will."
© Straffestreek.be
Sissired performs well, industrial apples struggle
In addition to Conference pears, Fruitbedrijf Morren, which markets its products through BelOrta, also focuses on the summer apple variety Sissired. "That actually went very well. There were some smaller sizes because of the lack of rain, but sales weren't a problem. Quality-wise, they were good, and you can see that there's always interest in a summer apple. Industrial apples, on the other hand, don't bring in much. Prices are low, between 13 and 20 cents, which hardly covers the costs."
When it comes to varieties, Bert has no plans to change direction. "I'm satisfied with Conference and Sissired, and these will probably remain our main crops for now. So I don't plan to switch to new resistant varieties anytime soon. Of course, more and more crop protection products are disappearing, so we'll have to see how things go next year, especially concerning scab. Much will always depend on the weather and seasonal conditions."
Peak demand during holidays
Besides fresh fruit, Bert and his wife Joke also run a regional produce shop that allows them to sell processed fruit through other channels. Products range from homemade apple gin, apple juice, and pear syrup made from their own fruit, to locally produced coffee, mustard, and beer. "It's a bit quieter now, but as Christmas and New Year approach, the real rush begins again. That's when many people order gift baskets. It's really the high season for our shop—from late November to early January. Most of our customers are from the region. People value local products here, and we notice that very clearly."
For more information:
Bert and Joke Morren
Fruitbedrijf Morren 
Groenstraat 6
3470 Kortenaken, Belgium
Tel: +32 474 76 46 69
[email protected]
www.stre ekproductenmorren.be
