Pear harvest is underway in the Pacific Northwest. "We're only about 1/3 of the way into our pear harvest for the new crop," says Ed Weathers of Duckwall Fruit. "The early returns for our district, the Hood River mid Columbia district, show it to be a very good, high-quality crop and it is picking out a bit over our initial estimates."
While the timing of the crop looks similar to the historical start time for pear harvesting in the region, what is different this year is the sizing. "Sizing is better than expectations given the reasonably large crop," he says, noting that fruit size isn't as big as last year's sizing. That fruit was fairly large, which is attributed to the fact that it was a shorter crop. "This year is more of a normal full manifest," adds Weathers.
In terms of varieties, Duckwall is estimating more on all of its core varieties. Summer pears are being harvested right now, which are Bartlett and Starkrimson. Winter pear harvest will get start in the next few days.
© Duckwall Fruit
Imports to domestic pears
As for the transition from imported pears into new crop domestic pears, it's not as smooth as was hoped. "Last year, due to really high domestic pricing because of our incredibly short crop, we saw an influx of imports into the country. It was not only into the U.S., but also into countries such as Mexico, which is our number one export market," says Weathers. "So there were more imports available when we got started, and even more so for when California got started. There's more competition overall."
While it's early to determine how the demand for pears is, the fuller crop will allow for strong, season-long programs. Also, while last year's smaller crop limited pear exports, this year's crop will allow growers and shippers to ship to markets around the world again.
On pricing, Weathers does note that opening pricing versus a year ago is down considerably–likely due to it being a larger crop. However, the opening pricing does look similar to normal, historical pricing.
For more information:
Ed Weathers
Duckwall Fruit
Tel: +1 (541) 354-1694
[email protected]
www.duckwallfruit.com
