Northwest pear shippers and officials report robust demand for a big, high-quality crop.
About 72% of Northwest pears had yet to ship as of Nov. 8, up from 69% last year at the same time, said Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer of Pear Bureau Northwest, Milwaukie, Ore. Yet 6.3 million boxes had already shipped as of that date, up from 6 million the year before, Moffitt said.
On Nov. 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported prices of Markets could change when anjous take over the bulk of the deal’s heavy lifting from bartletts. Northwest shippers are on track to ship about 22.2 million boxes of pears this year, which would be the largest on record and 14% more than last season.
Fruit is sizing bigger this year, which has proved attractive to domestic buyers, particularly with the holidays coming up, Moffitt stated. However, bigger is not necessarily better for export markets. Prices should stay stable in general heading into December, but markets for scarcer small fruit could firm up. Northwest shippers should have all varieties on hand to ship for the holidays. In fact, with the big crop this season, most varieties should be available through January.
Quality is good this season, with about 88% of fruit grading out at No. 1-quality, which is normal, Moffitt said. Because of some labor shortages during harvest, some fruit hung on trees longer than usual, which improved its eating quality, he added.