ast month the FPJ reported a downward revision in Portugal’s Rocha Pear crop volume, following a summer of intense sun and limited rainfall. The country’s national Rocha Pear association, ANP, forecast a 40 per cent drop in production on last year for 2005, estimating volumes at around 115,000-125,000 tonnes. However, a couple of months down the line, things are not looking quite so dire for the industry.
“The 2005 pear rocha crop is 30 per cent down on last year so our company will have around 12,000t,” says Armando Torres Paulo, president of ANP and director of exporting group, O Melro.com. Torres Paulo says all growers were affected by the weather problems, especially those with orchards in the plains. “In the plains there is less wind, and the hot days have a greater effect on the pear tree and the fruit,” he says. And, unfortunately there is very little growers can do to prevent or remedy such natural disasters. “Growers should irrigate more but they cannot help it being a hot and dry year and there was not enough water to irrigate.”
O Melro.com is a joint venture between grower groups, Campotec, Frutus and Eurohorta. The company represents 110 growers and operates on 1,200 hectares. “We export fruit from growers of all different sizes. Some have small farms and have another job as well. But they are mainly 100 per cent devoted to Rocha pears, with farms ranging in size from four hectares to 80ha.” The overall area covered by O Melro.com increased by 10 per cent last year. As a consequence, production costs have been stepped up by seven per cent owing to the extra irrigation requirements.
The majority of O Melro.com’s production is destined for the internal market. However, since 1994, the UK has become the biggest external market, with fruit imported by all of the major retailers. Despite the extreme depletion in production, UK buyers are not raising the alarm bells just yet. “Our Rocha pear offer is 100 per cent from Portugal and there have been losses, but we are not experiencing problems with supply shortages because the Sainsbury’s business is prioritised above other markets,” says Sainsbury’s apple and pear buyer, Neil Gibson. Asda is likewise confident that its Rocha supplies will be sufficient. “Our suppliers are continuing to provide exactly what we need,” say fruit buyers Lee Harper and Anne Spencer. “There are no supply issues and volume has in fact increased this season.”
Sales at Sainsbury’s have remained static in recent years but Gibson hopes this will change in the not-too-distant future. “The stasis is partly down to range rationalisation, however, Sainsbury’s is currently price-promoting Rocha in order to increase awareness and encourage consumers to try the variety.”
Rocha pears are not yet as renowned as the traditional English variety, Conference. Yet they are gaining recognition all the time, especially among young consumers and lend themselves to diverse eating situations. “They are definitely not as popular, but once sales are established they produce a reliable sale in the limited space they are afforded,” says Gibson. “They are ideal as a snacking pear and due to the smaller size of the fruit they are great for children. They are also less confusing for the consumer to understand in terms of changes to appearance and eating attributes - this pear can be eaten crisp or further ripened and eaten soft.”
Torres Paulo agrees it has a number of points in its favour. “Rocha is crunchy and people usually prefer crunchy pears to soft. It is the only yellow crunchy pear, it has a better shelf-life than other pears and a characteristic texture and flavour. It doesn’t need a knife and fork as other pears do.”
Gibson adds: “Being able to enjoy the pear crisp or soft facilitates different eating occasions, for example, snacking away from home while enjoying the juicier version at home.” In addition such versatility is beneficial to supermarkets because it extends the time-frame within which the consumer is able to consume the pears.
Portugal has long been considered the number one source for Rocha pears. Gibson says Sainsbury’s is undertaking trials to source from Argentina, Brazil and Spain, although to date there has been no real volume for export and the quality has been notably inferior.
Portugal, by contrast, has developed an excellent reputation for quality product, since it has uniquely favourable conditions for growing it: namely, good weather and good soil. Torres Paulo is fiercely proud of his natural heritage. “If you eat a Rocha pear, you can experience the sun and flavour of Portugal.” Despite some adverse characteristics Rocha pears are a good business for Portugese growers, he says. “The Rocha pear is the best pear. The tree is not as good as others since production is between 25 and 50 per cent lower but it is a good pear from a bad tree.”
Gibson is fully supportive of the Portugese offer. “Product has been very consistent each year despite different growing conditions. Product eat has been excellent and it is an ideal fruit to encourage consumers into the pear category which can generally be a complicated category for them to understand.”
At the same time, the country is still subjected to the same afflictions felt by all European producers, says Torres Paulo.
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Not all regions in Portugal are blessed with the favourable conditions for which the country has become known, which means there is much variety within the country in terms of the taste and appearance of Rocha pears, according to ANP’s secretary general Patricia Vaz. “The Oeste region has had PDO-GI status for a few years now because it really is the only place to get Rocha pears which taste as they are supposed to,” she says. “They are sweeter and look different to the pears from other areas.”
Despite the natural fluctuations in volumes this year, marketing and promotional activity continue to flourish both domestically and internationally. “In the UK, the promotional activities are agreed between each Portugese exporter and his English client,” says Torres. “This year, Portugal has fewer pears so the promotional activities will be focused on the quality and pleasure of eating a Rocha rather than price.”
According to Vaz, ANP will be working on a project to create a unified image for the pear growers to present to the national market. The association is also trying to raise the profile of the pear in a very visual manner, with the construction of around five giant pears to be placed along the highway in the country’s western region. “The project started about 18 months ago and is taking a little longer than we thought,” she says. “We have already built one and will try to add another one each year, at least until we reach five.”
Meanwhile, the Association Confrarea da Perarocha, a pear society formed last year by 80 enthusiasts for the sector - from growers, co-operatives, chefs, corporate organisation and local government - is continuing to get behind Portugal’s famous pear. “Every year there will be a ceremony where we invite other people to join, which gets some media attention,” says Vaz. “The association is made up of several different groups of people all over the country and they take part in supermarket tastings and cookery demonstrations to show the wonderful versatility of the fruit - all the different ways to eat and prepare it. Almost everyone in Portugal knows about Rocha pears but not everyone eats it.”
To this end, the growers realise they must continue to look forward, in good years and bad, says Torres. “They must always make investments on their capacity to produce better and more fruit, in order to satisfy the consumer, and appeal to new ones, so we can keep growing the market every year.”
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