Representatives of the US northwest pear industry have forecast that this year's crop will drop slightly on the bumper crop seen in 2011, but will still be relatively large in size.
Following the industry's annual pear meetings in Portland at the start of the month, the forecast is for a crop of 19.3m standard 44lb-box equivalents, or 424,080 tonnes – down 6 per cent on 2011 but up 2 per cent on the five-year average.
The industry expects an average harvest timing beginning in August, with fruit quality looking good and no significant weather issues so far, marketing body Pear Bureau Northwest said.
Green Anjou pears are showing a decrease of 9 per cent on 2011, with the Bosc crop also set to fall, by 14 per cent on last year's record. The Bartlett variety is expected to increase in volume by 4 per cent, with Starkrimsons set to rise 5 per cent and Comice up 4 per cent year-on-year.
In terms of production volume, Green Anjous are anticipated to make up 54 per cent of the total 2012, while Bartlett and Bosc pears are expected to yield 21 per cent and 15 per cent of the crop respectively.
With the crop looking strong, Pear Bureau Northwest president and CEO Kevin Moffitt said that he was confident the marketing programmes planned for 2012 would help move the crop effectively: 'We have developed innovative retail programmes for this season based on new pear category information, which we will be custom-tailoring for retailers.'
Pear Bureau Northwest will engage in export promotions in 38 countries worldwide, with the top export markets remaining Mexico, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and India.
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