South Africa’s pear industry have been given a major lift by the harvesting and export of a new blushed pear which in future will play an important role in the early season.
The pear, called Celina, will for the first time in nearly 20 years offer a viable opportunity for the South African industry to offer the world’s markets a range of blushed pears from early until late in the season. The first commercial volumes of Celina were harvested this season in various areas, with most of them from the Langkloof region.
By all accounts, the Celina outperformed most of its competitors where it was offered and the Stargrow Group, which has the exclusive license in South Africa for the variety, said all early expectations for the variety have so far been met.
Celina is reported to have received great taste reviews and could in future set the benchmark for South African blushed pears.
Fruitnet understands that similar varieties offering the same taste values are in various stages of testing and may, in future, provide options in the mid- and late-season.
“Celina is the earliest of a range of blushed varieties that South African growers are offering the world’s markets,” says Stargrow’s Andries van der Westhuizen.
The first fruit has been offered to retailers in Europe and the Middle East, while small volumes have also been offered to consumers in South Africa through Freshmark and the Shoprite Checkers Group.
Celina bears fruit with an intense red blush and is of uniform shape. “Being a summer pear it is picked sweet off the tree and ready to eat, but also has exceptional storage potential and good shelf life,” Van der Westhuizen continued. “Additionally, being harvested very early on in the season, it has a distinct advantage over competing cultivars as being a season opener and does not lose its intense red blush during the hot January summer days. It has really been in high demand this year and performed very well in terms of prices.'
Two of the growers placing great faith in Celina are Ismail and Phirdy Motala from the farm Waveren near Wolseley in the Western Cape. Ismail Motala is a well-known figure in agriculture and is currently redeveloping his farm with support from the Stargrow Group.
“Celina is one of the new cultivars we have access to and supported by the best technology, a corporate business approach and the ability to purchase inputs at prices that are afforded to large businesses, it positions us well for the future.” said Motola.
Stargrow’s chairman Michiel Prins says Celina will find favour with growers because it is presently the earliest blushed pear with excellent commercial sales potential.
“The colour is excellent and it does not lose the blush under warm conditions,' he outlined. 'It is the growers' best friend, because it delivers an excellent yield, the trees come into production fairly early and it eats very well.”
Prins said Celina would be part of an international marketing concept that would ensure the variety has customer exposure over much longer periods.
“We are delighted to have it as part of our Stargrow portfolio. The early promise is certainly there to be one of those varieties which could help shape a new South African pear sector both in terms of returns to the farm and market performance.”
