Pear growers in the US North West are optimistic that they can compete with European product, with early signs of a bumper crop in the region.
Pear Bureau Northwest estimates it will produce 19.1 million boxes, an increase of 10 per cent on 2008’s small crop and 8.5 per cent larger than the average over the last five years.
The bureau has focused its efforts on organic production, with an estimated 33,000 boxes headed primarily for Canada and the UK.
Jeff Correa, international marketing director for Pear Bureau Northwest, told freshinfo: “This season we have a very good growing season so far. The spring bloom was a little late, but May temperatures were warmer than normal and helped things catch up. There were not any major issues with freeze or hail so far this season, so it is shaping to be a big crop which may also be very clean.
“We have heard that there will probably be a higher percentage of smaller size pears than normal, which is good for many of the export markets such as Europe.
“In terms of how this impacts our sales to the UK, the size of our crop probably isn’t the most important factor. The top two factors are the size of the European crop and the exchange rate. If the EU pear crops are down and the exchange rate is still in a favourable trading position for US shippers, then we tend to ship a good amount of pears to the UK.
“In terms of promotions, we have a promotional programme to work with the key retailers to set up USA Pear promotions. In Ireland, we conduct a wholesaler incentive contest to help increase the export volumes to that market.”
It is estimated that 38 per cent of the total crop will go for export this year.
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