In 1836 in the regions surrounding Sintra, this Portuguese pear variety was discovered by accident in the orchards of horse-trader Pedro Antonio Rocha, who named the pear after himself.
Plantings of the variety expanded as Rocha’s neighbours took branches from his trees and planted their own. Today, 90 per cent of production is concentrated in the central coastal region of Portugal, known as the Oeste - mainly based in the traditional fruit-growing districts of Cadaval, Bombarral, Torres Vedra, Obidos and Caldas das Rainhas - and now the officially designated region of Rocha pear production.
The region’s proximity to the sea, high sulphur levels in the soil, extreme temperature variations of hot sunny days and cool nights produce the intense colour and good balance between high brix levels (14 per cent) and acidity.
The Rocha pear is an oval-shaped, medium-sized pear of 60-65mm. It is smooth-skinned with yellow-pale green colouring and white flesh. It has good storage capacity and is resistant to handling.
Harvesting takes place in August and September, and because of the variety’s keeping qualities, sales are stretched from August to April. This season’s volumes are better than 2003 and a large percentage of production is destined for the export markets - the UK is the main importer, followed by Brazil, Ireland, Russia and France.
In 2003, 75,000 tonnes of pears were produced - 55 per cent were sold to the local market, 40 per cent exported and five per cent went to juice production. President of the ANP, Armando Torres Paulo says UK supermarkets determine pear prices as do, to a lesser extent, other important buying markets such as France and Brazil, “as all markets are needed for different grades of fruit”.
Production and promotion of the pear is well supported by local government and residents alike. The mayor of Obidos, Thelmo Faria openly supports the success of Rocha for the region: “The younger generation is entering the local agricultural sector which highlights the success of the Rocha pear foundation. This is a new phase in the Portuguese economic cycle as youth brings enthusiasm. There have been several marketing and media campaigns to promote the fruit to get the message across to the Portuguese to eat more pears,” he says. The local council assists the activities of the ANP. He adds: “The sector needs support from the local government but it is easy to do so when the produce is of such good quality,” says Faria. Rocha pears are supplied to the UK fruit for schools scheme because of their size, sweetness and robustness, and a similar project is being introduced in Obidos with Faria’s support.
The region’s growers and co-ops saw the need to form a specific association that would co-ordinate all marketing and promotional activities for the fruit and so the ANP was formed 10 years ago. The organisation is managed by newly appointed secretary general, Patricia Vaz, who oversees the administration and all promotional activities relating to the region’s treasured fruit, working closely with the board of directors. “All associated exporters contribute a price per kilo exported to fund the promotional activities,” says Vaz. “The ANP is a good example of how a lobby group can work well.”
Additionally, this year a pear society was formed with 80 pear-loving members, with support from growers, co-ops, corporate organisations, local government and chefs to promote the importance of the Rocha pear, adds Torres Paulo.
STRINGENT STANDADRS HELP MAINTAIN UK DEMAND FOR CO-OP
Cooperativa Agricola dos Fruticultores do Cadaval (Coopval), founded in 1969, sent its first pears to Brazil - 200t in 1977. Exports to the UK commenced in 1982 and, last season, 2,500t were sent to supply UK supermarkets and the fruit for schools scheme. Other export markets include Russia (2,100t), France (1,000t), Ireland, Canada and Italy. Of the total production from the grower members, 85 per cent is Rocha pear.
The 20,000m2 EurepGAP and BRC certified packhouse has been recently modernised with isolated sorting and packing areas, and includes a 6,000t coldstore and a newer 4,500t controlled-atmosphere store. Company director Pedro Nuno Silva is himself a grower and is a director of the ANP. “This season is an average season,” he says, “with 14,000t grown by our 430 associated growers on 700 hectares. Over the last five years, orchards have expanded by 30-40 per cent. However, 20 per cent of the growers are responsible for 80 per cent of production and 8,000-9,000t is destined for the UK.”
Technical commercial manager Nelson Isidoro grew up in the region and his father is a pear grower. He says that the UK market prefers medium to small-sized fruit, which are the natural characteristics of the Rocha pear. “We are very stringent with our pesticide and health and safety checks for fruit sent to the UK. Buyers demand pears that are blemish-free and with uniform colouration, very different from what Russian buyers want,” says Isidoro.
Coopval has supplied Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose over the years through Empire World Trade and other UK distributors. “We have relationships with several distributors who supply the retailers and the 5-a-day programmes,” says Silva. “In the mid-term we will increase our handling capacity from 1,200t a day to compete with other pear-producing nations as we aim to increase our market share.”
ADDITIONAL PLANTING AS GRANFER AIMS TO GROW BUSINESS
Granfer began exporting to the UK in 1992 after an English buyer spotted the Rocha pear at Rungis market in Paris. “The gentleman bought our pear and took it back to the UK where he noticed it lasted for two weeks,” says director Felipe Ferreira. “He then contacted us and we sent four trucks of Rocha pears to the UK that year. He was our first client. The next season we sent 20 trucks and by 1997, working with Saphir at the time, we sent 100 trucks of pears to supply UK supermarkets.”
Granfer is a co-operative society of fruit producers formed in 1986 and headed by brothers Felipe and Helio, who are also pear growers with orchards based in the São Mamede region. The co-op has a strong focus on exporting Portuguese-grown fruit.
Three years ago, it was the first Portuguese horticulture company to receive EurepGAP certification and its facilities occupy 6,300m2 - divided into packing areas for national or foreign markets, 11 cold stores, and 3,000t of storage capacity. “With the success of the Rocha pear in foreign markets, we have planted an additional 19ha this year. Pear volumes are 7,000t, grown on 50ha owned by Granfer, and we have had the first fruit from 30ha bought by Granfer for e1million. The remaining volumes we supply are grown on 40ha from our associate members,” says Felipe Ferreira. In total, the co-op has 200 pear-growing hectares, 60ha for apple production and 57ha for growing peaches and nectarines.
Last season Granfer won an exporter of the year prize, for exporting 4,000t; and with pear volumes higher and smaller fruit calibre (55-60mm) the co-op plans to increase exports. “Our first pears were sent to the UK and Brazil on August 12. “We pack the pears in various-sized bags, 1kg punnets and 12kg boxes to supply several retailers. We have good client relationships with the UK and the supermarkets appreciate our pears because of their size and quality,” says Felipe Ferreira. “There is strong competition to supply the UK market because it is a large importer of pears. Our main competition comes from Williams’s grown in France and Italy, and Conference pears from northern Europe, because their season is the same as ours.
We are constantly investing in our business and aim to increase our market share with Rocha. We have a very young team here who are all proactive. And with ANP promotional activities, we are looking at creating market opportunities with the newer EU members.”
UK A VITAL MARKET FOR ROCHA SAYS LUIS VICENTE
Luis Vicente is a company with 40 years experience in the distribution, export and import of fruit and vegetables, but the Rocha pear is its biggest product.
The company is head quartered in Torres Vedra and has two modern packhouses of 8,700m2 and 8,500m2 in the region from which pears are distributed between August and April. “We have solid relationships with our 130 growers and our Rocha pear buyers,” says commercial director, Manuel Chaves.
The company has increased export volumes, and in 2001 it expanded its pear orchards by 235 hectares in the southern province of Alentejo.
“Volumes this season are back to normal after a low-volume season in 2003, and the quality is excellent because we had a very cool August. Low rainfall resulted in pear sizes being smaller - which is good to supply the UK market,” says Chaves. “The first UK exports were sent to supply Morrisons on August 10, from our plantations in the Alentejo, which are the first to be harvested.”
Agronomist Paulo Correia says Rocha is sold green in September and yellow in March because of the maturation process. “The season lasts eight months and we send trucks weekly to the UK which arrive within 48 hours. But for customers wanting large fruit this season, it will be difficult.”
Total volumes for the season are 10,000-12,000t and Chaves says that pear prices this year are comparable to those received two to three years ago. The company has exported pears to the UK for 10 years, and last year sent its first Rocha pears to Poland. Chaves says: “The UK is an important market for us as it is stable and we supply constant volumes under our Global Fruit brand. However, we are looking to create new markets in the EU. We export to Russia but demand can fluctuate because they rely on production from the Netherlands and Belgium, while exports to France are dependent on local production.
“The majority of our employees have family who are growers themselves and our three agronomists assist growers with production throughout the harvest. Though pears are our main product, we distribute 50,000t of fresh produce. Since 2000, we have invested e5m into the business to diversify our offer and increase our acreage to grow quality produce.”
JOINT VENTURE LOOKING TO GREAT YEAR ROUND SUPPLY
O Melro.com/Unirocha is a joint venture between three grower groups - Campotec, Frutus and Eurohorta.
With headquarters in Peral, which means “land of pears”, the group’s facilities include six packhouses, with 20,000t coldstore capacity, of which 6,000t is controlled atmosphere, allowing the pear season to be extended until April. Sixty-two growers with 801 top-fruit hectares produced 13,000t of fruit this season, and 96 per cent is Rocha pear. The majority of the grower’s pear trees are aged between four and 25 years, and further plantations of new orchards are planned throughout 2005-06.
The pears are distributed to national retailers, sent to UK and European supermarkets as well as Brazil and Canada. Director Armando Torres Paulo and president of the ANP says that Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s are the biggest buyers of the Portuguese pears, and “this season, Marks & Spencer is selling a four-pear pack, with two ready-to-eat and two to ripen.
“Pear volumes are up this season at 12,000t, and even though we are comparing it to the low base in 2003, volumes are better than 2002. We have been supplying pears for the Sainsbury’s Blue Parrot range for four years now, but this year you will see my face on the bags,” says Torres Paulo. The group has over 1,000ha of top-fruit production and to stay ahead of the game requires constant investment in packhouse and machinery, says Torres Paulo. “The way we plant trees has changed; previously there was five metres between trees, but as labour and other costs increase, we need to be smart and plantings are now just 1m apart. Pears stored under normal conditions are sold until December, after which pears that have been held in controlled atmosphere stores are marketed, allowing the season to last up to 10 months in total. This year Torres Paulo has arranged supply agreements with the Austrian and Slovenian markets, and hopes to do the same with Slovakia once its local supplies end this month.
The most recent investment by the company is the plantation of Rocha pear in Santa Caterina, southern Brazil, and the formation of a co-op of 19 Brazilian growers over the last three years. “This investment is to create a yearly supply base of the pear,” says Torres Paulo.
STAMP OF APPROVAL
Codimaco is the designated certification body for Rocha pear that controls and certifies Rocha pear production is in line with local and foreign standards. Formed in 1993, the body certifies packhouses for compliance, pest management, orchard management, packaging, labelling and transportation. Codimaco engineer Luis Paiva says all certified pears grown in the Oeste region carry protected denomination of origin status (DOP) and quality labels to indicate that both origin and quality standards are met. The organisation is aiming to achieve BRC accreditation by summer 2005.
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