California pear growers say that the market has been firm for several years now, and demand from canneries and packers is even stronger this year. This comes after years of declining prices and reductions in acreage.
"Over the years, orchards have come out and supply is now in line with demand, to the benefit of all of us," said Toni Scully, a grower and packer in Lake County.
Harvest is underway for the state's two main growing regions, with the Sacramento River Delta finishing its later varieties, while Lake and Mendocino counties are ramping up harvest of the Bartlett variety, which comprises the majority of the state's 9,000 pear acres.
Fruit quality this season has been excellent, with a good range of sizes, said Chris Zanobini, executive director of the California Pear Advisory Board. But growers and packers say the crop is also lighter. Total state production is estimated at 156,041 tons this year, down from 170,048 tons in 2015, according to the advisory board.
Pear growers expected a reduced crop this year, after orchards were hard hit last year with the bacterial disease fire blight. That caused growers to remove fruiting wood from their trees, said Robert Arceo, a grower in the river district and field representative for Rivermaid Trading Co., which packs about 50 percent of the state's pears. He noted that rain and cooler weather during bloom also may have contributed to the lower yields.
The lighter crop has processors and packers competing for the fruit, boosting prices to growers. Zanobini noted canneries are paying 3 percent more than last year's price, while Arceo said packers are paying an even-higher price in order to secure enough fruit for the fresh market. He estimated growers will average about $430 a ton for their processing pears, depending on fruit quality and size.
"We're now at the point where it's balanced between supply and demand, and prices have come up enough to where we can make a living doing this," said Doug Dickson, who grows Bartlett and Bosc pears in Sacramento County.
But competition from winegrapes continues to eat into pear tonnage, said Rachel Elkins, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties. She noted that in recent years, big orchards in the delta have been bought by wineries, while pear acres in the Marysville area also came out to make way for grapes.
"When those things happen, you lose a big bunch of fruit at one time," she said.
Growers have also lost homes for their fruit. Elkins pointed out that shrinking pear acreage in the state correlates to how few processors are left, with Pacific Coast Producers, Del Monte and Seneca Foods being the last three canners.
Packers have also consolidated. In the Lake/Mendocino growing region, Scully Packing in Finley is now the only one packing for the fresh market, after Adobe Creek in Kelseyville closed its packing facility last year.
Availability of harvest employees continues to be a major concern, Scully said, especially for her region, which is now heading into the height of its Bartlett harvest, when demand for crews is highest. At this point, she said she is "getting by," but noted that crews are picking a lighter crop this year. The situation usually gets tighter when grape harvest begins, she added.
Another concern for the Lake/Mendocino growing region is how much of its harvest will overlap with the Pacific Northwest pear harvest, which creates a more-challenging market for the Golden State's later crop. Elkins noted that recent heat in Washington means growers there will be picking early.
"They have tended to squeeze the market window for us earlier and earlier," she said.
Source: California Farm Bureau Federation/agalert.com
