After a slight delay, some California pear shippers have already opened up the season and are busy packing the first varieties. The very first varieties may not be the most familiar but larger volume crops like Bartletts are not far away. It will, however, take a few weeks for shippers to build volume while they harvest and prepare the fruit for distribution.
"We have only just started the season, beginning with the early green Sunsprite," said Kyle Persky of Rivermaid Trading Company in Lodi. "Movement on these has been very good. This week we will be starting Bartletts and Starkrimsons and by the end of the week we will be in full production. It will take a little while to build up volume as we treat the fruit, including cooling overnight with forced air as well as ripening."
Poor weather during bloom
Freezing weather during the bloom means the California crop will be lighter by 16.6 percent this year according to the California Pear Advisory Board. A greater proportion of what is on the trees, however, is higher quality and will be well suited for the fresh market, meaning things should be tighter on processing grade fruit. Currently, growers are reporting good weather conditions.
"It's been hot the last few days and in the last six to eight weeks, growing conditions have been excellent," Persky said. "We did not, however, have good weather during the bloom, with freezing conditions eventually resulting in a staggered bloom and subsequently lower tonnage. This will not impact the fresh market as much as we are seeing larger, cleaner fruit on the trees."
Market opens up strongly
The market has opened up positively and shippers have reported better prices than at this time last year. Despite the competition from more traditional summer fruits, Persky noted that people still anticipate the start of the California pear season. "Consumers are excited about the start of the new domestic crop and thus far, the response has been very positive," he said. "For several months now, the only pears available have been offshore fruit and the dwindling storage crop."
Persky added that retailers should be encouraged to promote pears because they are not an item that will necessarily be on the top of consumers' shopping lists. For California shippers, this is especially important with the significant Northwest crop imminent. "The Northwest crop is always close behind us and therefore, it's important to have strong activity," Persky said. "Effective promotions and attractive displays are vital to help keep inventory moving."
Pouch bags keep growing
The trend towards pouch bags continues, as packers distribute an increasing number of these to receivers. Retailers appear to be happy with these weighted options because of the reported reduction in waste and the greater flexibility to sell fruit of more varied sizes.
"We are always looking at innovative packaging options," Persky shared. "The trend we continue to see is the move to more pouch bags. Rivermaid offers pears in various sized pouch bags from 2lb, 3lb and 4lb. There is also the 6lb consumer tray packs which you often see in the club stores. What is considered standard is still the 40lb cartons, but there is now less going into the standard in favor of the pouch bags."
For more information:
Kyle Persky
Rivermaid Trading Company
Tel: +1 (209) 369-3586