Bouncing back from a frost damaged season, this year’s pears out of Idaho produced a healthy sized crop. “There was probably more supply than last year. Overall we felt like our condition was really good and the movement was pretty steady,” says Sally Symms of Caldwell, ID-based Symms Fruit Ranch. “Our crop was probably about 15 per cent bigger than last year.” Prices stayed even
That in turn led to steady prices, even with feeling the competition from the Northwestern region which shares the same growing season as Idaho. “There were a lot of large pears out there so those moved a little bit slower than the small ones did,” she says. “I think the small ones moved faster because there was probably less supply.”
Variety appeals
While Symms Fruit Ranch sells three kinds of pears including Bartlett (which Symms says appeals to consumers who prefer to can and cook with pears) and Anjou pears which tend to get sold more into the fresh market. “And we did have Bosc pears this year but we didn’t market them because we didn’t have enough of a crop to put them into production,” says Symms.
For more information:
Sally Symms
Symms Fruit Ranch
Tel: +1 208 459 4821