Europe is set for an average pear crop this season after a number of leading production countries reported lower volumes.
Revealing the latest forecasts at Prognosfruit in Italy this week, the World Apple & Pear Association’s Daphne van Doorn said an EU crop of 2.3 million tonnes is expected, down on the final total of 2.4mt last year and making it the fifth-largest in the past 10 years.
The biggest production declines are being reported in Portugal, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy.
Italy is the EU’s largest pear producer, growing 31 per cent of the union’s crop, followed by Spain (16 per cent), Belgium (15 per cent) and the Netherlands (14 per cent).
Despite a drop off on many of the leading varieties, van Doorn suggested it was the smaller varieties rather than the bigger names that are seeing longer-term decline. Conference production is expected to be 4 per cent down this year, Abate 7 per cent down, Williams 5 per cent down and Rocha 25 per cent down.
By contrast there will be a 6mt increase in Coscia (+6 per cent), and 8mt more Guyot (+16 per cent) produced.
Globally, Argentinian production is suffering from a combination of high inflation, controls on currency exchange, labour issues and a lack of government support, leading to a projected 17 per cent decline in production, with exports back to levels last seen from 2000-2005.
Chile’s production will rise 15 per cent and New Zealand’s by 30 per cent, albeit from a low base in the case of the latter.
Total global production is forecast to be 19.9mt, up 5.1 per cent thanks largely to a 7.5 per cent increase in the Chinese crop, which is expected to come in at 14.8mt.
