Volumes of pears coming out of the Pacific Northwest state of Washington have been good, but sizing has been smaller than usual.“The season's been going well,” says Kevin Steiner of Sage Fruit Company. He says they've had good movement on Bartlett and Anjou varieties, but movement on Bosc pears has been slower. He also reports that the volume of Bosc pears has been higher than in previous years.
“There has been more fruit produced than last year,” he says, “and for Bosc pears, it's been about 15% more.” With more fruit and without a rise in demand, he notes that the price for Bosc pears has been lower than usual.
Quality on all varieties has been good, though sizing has been on the small side. Steiner says it's suspected that cool weather last spring contributed to the smaller sizes.
Some organic growers have also seen smaller sizing. Matt Roberts, of CF Fresh, says they've encountered smaller sizes.
“Sizing has been a little down this year,” he says, “for us, we've seen a lot of size 100 pears.” He also believes that cool weather leading up to this season has played a role in fruit sizes. He adds that volume has also been higher than usual, but because demand for organic fruit has been good, there has not been a decline in price.