European pear producers are set to enjoy a strong season with high prices, as the continent expects to produce its smallest crop of recent years.
Speaking at last week’s Prognosfruit in Kent, Helwig Schwartau of German price and marketing authority ZMP told delegates that early pears are already seeing a 25 per cent boost in prices, as frost, rainfall and low temperatures in the growing period across western Europe conspired to push down volumes.
Pear production in the EU is forecast to decrease by 14 per cent this season, according to figures from the World Apple & Pear Association (WAPA). Although eastern European producers are expected to make a full recovery from their shortfall last season - with Hungary, for example, anticipating a 227 per cent boost in 2008-09 production - growers in Italy, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are expecting losses of 18, 29, 33 and 38 per cent respectively. UK pear production is forecast to fall by 15 per cent. Spain is the only country of the EU-15 due to harvest relatively stable volumes of pears this season, with a slight increase of three per cent.
“The market conditions are very good,” Schwartau, pictured, told delegates. “There will be a strong export market, especially to Russia, and the industry will get high prices for its pears. It will be a good year.”
However, pear acreage is decreasing across the whole of Europe due to lack of orchard renewal programmes, Jacques Dasque of European produce assembly AREFLH told the floor. “The trend is for total European production to fall,” he said. “Although volumes of Conference are rising, and Abate Fetel and Williams are also seeing good growth or at least stability, if growers do not renew their orchards, they cannot keep going.”
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