Pear consumption worldwide is “largely flat” and a massive collective promotional effort is needed, delegates were told at the Prognosfruit conference in Slovenia last week.
USA Pears ceo Kevin Moffitt said: “There has been no increase in pear consumption in the EU. In a disturbing trend, it is actually the opposite. It has decreased half a kilo per person a year to 1.5kg and it is 1.5kg in the US.”
Moffitt said different varieties were not the answer for pears and that the number of apple varieties was “confusing”.
USA Pears research found that bad eating experiences, rather than flavour, proved the problem as there are few visual clues to ripeness.
The EU27 2011-12 pear production is estimated at 2.5 million tonnes - a 12 per cent increase on last season, with the UK set to produce 26,000t, 21 per cent down due to frosts in early May.
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