Supplies of pears out of the Pacific Northwest look to be steady.
Randy Hartmann of Bellevue, WA-based Pacificpro says the crop this season is approximately 16 million standard cartons. “This would put the total crop size in line with the four-year average,” he says. “It was a very good growing season weather wise, although extremely warm in some growing regions so it was conducive to a very clean crop and larger sizing overall.”
Because of the heat in the Pacific Northwest--where temperatures exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit for multiple days at a time--harvest started slightly earlier this year. “The pears sized up earlier and growers wanted to get them off the trees a week or two earlier than last year, depending on the region,” says Hartmann.
“Cleanest crop in decades”
The crop looks good he says with very clean fruit, great shape and ideal sugars.
“Some of our growers report it could be the cleanest crop they have seen in decades. We had minimal to no inclement weather during the growing season, outside the warm temperatures, resulting in very clean fruit,” Hartmann says. “As such, the manifest is heavy to US#1 grade and light on Fancy grade.” He does note there are some shortages on smaller sizes--120 ct. and smaller--on all varieties and grades. “However, those regions that experienced some water shortages will be heavy to the smaller range of the manifest,” he says. “The Southern Oregon region was especially impacted by water cuts this season. This resulted in smaller sizing overall in this region and some growers choose to not pick a fair percentage of their crop due to the small sizing and limited outlet.”
Water shortages aren’t the only challenge growers are dealing with. “Some growers report a more difficult time this season than last finding adequate labor to harvest their crop. The clogged ports and overall supply chain issues also likely will impact export demand. But fortunately Canada and Mexico are primary export locations and domestic U.S. demand should be adequate to absorb any supply surpluses,” says Hartmann.
As for varieties, Pacificpro is shipping Bartlett Pears, Green and Red D'Anjou, Bosc, Starkrimson, Comice, Seckel and Forelle. As the start of the New Year gets closer, it will wind down on Bartletts and supplies will be heavy of D'Anjous and Bosc through the spring of 2022.
Washington and Oregon shipping
The pears are shipping from Hood River, Wenatchee, Yakima and Medford, OR regions of the Northwest. California has started cleaning up for its season so most domestic and export shipments have moved to the Washington State and Oregon area.
On demand, Hartmann notes it could differ slightly this season compared to 2020 due to the impact of COVID on the various uses.
“The larger sizing, which is predominantly a retail item and was in high demand last year due to strong retail sales, made up the bulk of total demand,” he says. “Because food service and school demand was down last year, much of the smaller sized fruit was allocated to the 12/3# bags for retail as well. This season, with schools back in and food service demand normalizing, we should see good demand on the 110ct and smaller into those sectors.”
What has yet to be determined are how--and if--current challenges will affect movement. “There is limited competition currently for pears due to the seasonality and limited growing regions for this commodity in the U.S. It remains to be seen how the current port congestion and supply chain issues will impact imports/exports throughout the season,” says Hartmann.
Strengthening demand
And on general pear consumption, while pear demand continues to be good, Hartmann notes there are industry efforts to focus on meeting consumers demands while helping promote the versatility of this commodity. “Increased focus on the quality of the pears upon delivery, to create the best eating experience for customers, should continue to help strengthen consumer demand,” he says.
So where has all of this left pricing? “It seems to be in line with historical averages,” he says, noting a US#1 D'Anjou 70/80ct--a popular retail variety, grade and size--is in the $32.95 FOB Washington range. “This is consistent with this same time last year and holding steady with pricing two weeks ago. We expect pricing to remain in this general range through the end of the year unless there are some unexpected supply issues or spiking demand.”
For more information:
Randy Hartmann
Pacificpro, Inc.
Tel: +1 425 885 7200
[email protected]
www.pacprosales.com