The prospects for English Conference pears are good this season, but it is more likely a one-year blip rather than a turnaround in fortunes for the long-beleaguered sector.
The size profile of the Conference crop is larger than normal, but the big bonus this year is gradeout percentages, which have improved significantly thanks to an abundance of clean, fruit with well-developed flavour.
“The crop is likely to be six per cent up overall on last year, at 25,300 tonnes,” said English Apples & Pears chief executive Adrian Barlow. “But because of the gradeout figures, I think we may be looking at a 20 per cent rise in Class I fruit. I think this will go down as a good year rather than a turnaround though.”
Despite its travails in recent times, Conference still dominates the English pear landscape. Amongst the second string varieties, Comice volumes are projected to be 20 per cent down, according to the latest EAP figures, at 3,000t, while Concord should weigh in at about 1,650t, similar to last season.
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