According to Pablo Pacheco, coordinator of the Information Unit of the Mercado Modelo, in 2016, the country achieved harvests between 15 and 25% of the total production capacity it had in 2015.
Pacheco said that in 2015 there had been terrible conditions for fruit set and for the fruit's flowering, as the bees could not work properly because spring had been very cloudy and rainy. Additionally, the humidity and low insolation caused many flowers to die. He also said the flowering of this crop only lasted 20 days, so if conditions aren't good in those days the harvest is doomed.
Bad conditions also affected apples, whose flowering process takes place in a time period that is similar to that of pears and that is also sensitive to the same issues. These were the pears and apples consumed throughout 2016. The low supply led to an increase in prices, especially for pears.
Pacheco said the normal average price in January and February stood at 40 pesos and that it would normally decrease to about 35 pesos in March when the rest of the harvest enters the market. In 2016, however, prices started to increase in January going from 45 to 55 pesos, and reaching higher levels later in the year.
Currently, the pears are being sold at an average of nearly 35 pesos per kilo, Pacheco said. Prices in 2017 are expected to be closer to the historical averages because the last harvest was significantly higher.
Change of strategy
According to Gabriel Pizzorno, a producer from the Pizzorno company, the 2016 pear harvest amounted to 30 or 35% of the total production capacity. As a result, he said, it was necessary to redesign their sales strategy so that they could supply their customers for as long as possible.
He said they had faced serious difficulties to achieve this and to satisfy domestic consumption. In 2016 the company decided not to export pears due to a lack of produce.
Pizzorno also said that the increase in prices was not related to the lack of product because, since there had been such a small harvest, pear prices should have increased by more than double the usual. He said prices couldn't surpass a certain level because consumers might dismiss the product and that it would be difficult for them to incorporate the product into their diet once they had dismissed it.
The scenario is completely different for this year since the harvest will be almost normal - estimated at 90% of total production. He added that they expected to achieve a better product quality and caliber in 2017 thanks to the rains that there have been since December.
Source: 180.com.uy