Spanish pear prices are strong this season in the face of a lower crop.
Trade association Catalonia Qualitat (CQ) reported that prices for Limonera are running 15 to 20 per cent higher than last season. The harvest is almost entirely finished for the variety and prices are rising due to difficult weather conditions in the growing period.
Williams, the staple variety of the canning industry, is also grown in Catalonia in north-eastern Spain, and the decline in volumes is estimated by CQ to be 26 per cent below last season. The organisation is expecting prices for this variety to climb as a result.
Meanwhile, for the first time this year, pears from the Lérida area of Catalonia will be marketed under a single identity in specially designed cartons bearing the Pera de Lleida logo - the registered marque for pears from the Lérida area. The decision was made at a recent meeting of Catalonia Qualitat growers and marks one of the steps necessary in order to gain protected denomination of origin status in the future.
The organisation has also managed to negotiate a price increase for Williams pears for processing, which will rise 38 per cent on last season’s levels. The price has been set at €0.235 (15.8p), €0.065 (4p) above last season. The organisation has been negotiating energy tariffs with provider Fecasa-Endesa for the next two years.
