According to many wholesalers form Bologna, pear sales are slow. "Crates hover between €1-1.50/kg depending on quality and grade. Decana pears with a wax seal reach €1.30-1.80 or even €1.90/kg, as they are of a higher quality. There are not a lot of big grades (90/100) and the intermediate ones (75/85) are more popular. The strange thing is that, at times like these, some people are willing to pay up to €2/kg for some varieties such as the Decana but the cheaper ones go unsold."
The Bologna wholesale market (Archive photo).
As regards the Abate variety (the most popular in the area), "branded ones are sold at a slightly higher price - €1.80/kg for a 12-fruit crate, €1.65 for a 14-fruit crate and €1.50 for a 16-fruit crate. 14-fruit crates of unbranded Abate pears hover between €1.20-1.40/kg. From there, the price drops as the grades get smaller down to 70/80 cents."
"We think sales are slow because prices are a little high. Abate pears in 14-fruit basket boxes are sold at around €1.40-1.50/kg, whereas 14-fruit basket boxes sell at 10 cents less and are still going unsold. There is a lot of produce and the warm temperatures do not push consumption. In addition, exports are a bit slow, so it is not helping the domestic market."
"We have finished with peaches not so long ago and, if the price of clementines should drop, we risk pear sales to suffer even more."
"Conference pears are doing a little better because there are less volumes available. 16-fruit crates reach €1.60/kg, 18-fruit crates are sold at €1.40 and 20-fruit crates at €1.10. Red Williams sales are very slow, whereas the consumption of white Williams is rather normal. They are sold at €1.20-1.60 for 16-fruit basket boxes, €1.30 for 18-fruit ones and €1 for 20-fruit ones."
Author: Andrea Minghelli
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