Northwest pear crop set to rise

In the US, the Northwest pear industry has released its 2011/12 fresh crop estimate, with the sector expecting a rebound from last year's short volumes.

According to Pear Bureau Northwest, the harvest is forecast to come in at 19.2m standard 44lb box equivalents, or 422,166 tonnes of pears, up 8 per cent on 2010/11 and 5 per cent over the five-year average.

Cool and wet weather conditions through the spring could lead to a later harvest, by one or two weeks, kicking off with the Starkrimson variety in mid-to-late August and followed by other summer-autumn varieties such as Bartlett.

Winter pear varieties including Anjou, Bosc, Comice, concorde, Forelle and Seckel will be picked from September through to mid-October, with quality looking 'excellent', according to the Bureau.

Green Anjou pears remain the most abundantly grown variety in the country, with volumes expected to rise 6 per cent year-on-year, with increases also anticipated for Bosc (27 per cent), Comice (36 per cent), Red Anjou (7 per cent) and Red Bartlett (10 per cent).

Organic pears are forecast to make up 737,000 boxes of the 2011/12 crop, coming to 16,214 tonnes, and increase of 2.3 per cent.

Pear Bureau Northwest CEO Kevin Moffitt said that, with a high-quality crop, he was confident that the marketing plans for the season would be effective in helping move the crop.

'We have a wealth of effective, targeted promotions on tap to market this crop across the US and around the globe,' said Moffitt. 'Pears continue to be a popular fruit choice among consumers the world over, and our programmes are poised to help increase demand and consumption while helping to ensure success for retailers and foodservice operators.'

Export promotions will take place in 39 different countries this year, with 18 international marketing representatives coordinating promotions for USA Pears with activities targeted for each country's market.

Top overseas markets for the fruit include Mexico, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, the UAE, Hong Kong and India, with special promotions this season including the Lazy Town campaign in Mexico and the US Fresh Fruit Showcase in India, Indonesia and Singapore.