China: 15% increase expected for new Ya pear crop

A recent report released by the US Department of Agriculture has shown that Chinese pear production is taking a flight. 75% of global pear production takes place in China and this year’s volume is expected to surpass last year’s harvest by a million tons. Export volumes are expected to reach 400,000 tons. “Weather conditions have been positive throughout summer and plantings in Eastern China are increasing. As a result, Ya pear and Crown pear productions are expected to go up by 15%,” according to Wang Zhongjiang, manager at Botou Yafeng Fruit, a specialised pear grower from Hebei province, near Beijing.

Asian pears are crisp in texture and are ready-to-eat straight after harvest. Thea pears do not change texture after picking or storage. This is different than European pears, that need to ripen before they can be consumed.

New Ya pear crop sent to the Dutch market

“Popular pear varieties for export are the Ya Pear, Golden pear, Crown pear and Shandong pear. We export to the US and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union. In China, we cooperate with Jing Kelong, a large supermarket chain, and China Resource Vanguard, the third largest supermarket chain in Hong Kong. Vanguard operates over 5,000 shops in Hong Kong and large Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.”

Ya pear

Pear orchard of Botou Yafeng

Yuan Huang (Golden) pear

“People’s living standards and consumption patterns have changed, and some of the more traditional pear varieties, such as the Taihuang pear and the Crispy pear are no longer meeting people’s demands. For this reason, we, in cooperation with Hebei Academy of Agriculture Sciences, are changing traditional planting methods and are making improvements to these varieties. Pear prices have increased in the past season and perhaps, due to a rise in production, will not recover in the season to come. We focus on speciality varieties and strict pesticide residue control. As a result we have been able to keep our prices stable above the market average.”

“We are not too concerned about the new European MRL limits. We assume that each container will be tested when entering the European market, and we are prepared for this.”

Wang Zhongjiang
Botou Yafeng Fruit
www.yafengfruit.com
E-mail: wangzhongjiang@yafengfruit.com
Phone: +86 1373 1747 416

Botou Yafeng Fruit will be present at Fruit Logistica as part of the China Hebei Pavilion