"The 2024–2025 pear season started off challenging. Hail showers and lower production in large parts of Europe, especially in Belgium, created uncertainty from the beginning. Nevertheless, marketing organisations, thanks in part to close cooperation with retail partners, managed to sell much of the crop through regular channels," Mark Vernooij of Urfruit reflects. "Overall, prices have been good this season. Growers with mature orchards were able to benefit significantly. At the same time, we saw that growers in southern regions, where yields were disappointing, achieved only limited returns per hectare despite the high prices."
"Towards the end of the season, there was some hesitation in the market. The consistently high prices sometimes sparked distrust, driven by last year's experience and the ongoing decline in per capita consumption. That trend is visible almost across all of Europe. Still, stock levels turned out to be manageable in the end: Not many pears were left unsold, and closing prices were surprisingly good. Traders and marketing organisations holding stock especially benefited. For some, this even meant partially recovering losses from the previous season," Mark observes.
Working on promotion, product experience, and innovation towards consumers
"At Urfruit, we are satisfied with how the season went. This year again, we were able to align the seasons well. At the moment, there is hardly any free trade; almost all pears are part of existing programmes. Still, as an industry, we face a clear challenge: pear consumption must increase! It's troubling to see that per capita pear consumption in Belgium has dropped from 4 kg in 2014 to just 1.8 kg in 2024. It's a clear call to all of us to focus on promotion, improving the product experience, and innovating for consumers."
"Looking ahead, the situation in our orchards is encouraging. The fruit set is good; in some plots, we will need to thin, but in general, we are thinning primarily for quality. The fruit looks strong and healthy. If the weather remains favourable, we expect a good start to the new season," says Mark. "In week 31, we will begin harvesting the first Corina pears at Urfruit. They will enter an almost empty market, a completely different situation from last year. We're looking forward to the new season!"
For more information:
Mark Vernooij
Urfruit
Marketing 45
6921 RE Duiven
+31 (0)575 472 473
[email protected]
www.urfruit.nl
