US pear harvest

Northwest pear industry revised crop estimate to 445,144 tons

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With harvest currently underway, representatives of the Northwest pear industry have officially updated their initial projections for the 2014 fresh pear crop yield.  Reports of a crop of excellent quality have been confirmed from all corners of the pear growing regions in Washington and Oregon, and the updated projection is showing a crop larger than previously forecast in the spring.  The revised estimate points to more than 20.2 million standard 44-lb box equivalents (or 445,144 tons) of pears for the fresh market.  This estimate is 2% larger than the five-year average, and 6% smaller than last year’s record crop.  The Northwest pear industry’s initial spring projection showed a crop of 18.7 million boxes.

Harvest began in late July with the Starkrimson and Bartlett pear varieties.  Anjou, Red Anjou, Bosc, Comice, Concorde, Forelle, and Seckel will be picked from late August through mid-October.  No significant weather issues have affected the crop to date.  The top three varieties in terms of production remain the same as in previous years; Green Anjou pears are anticipated to make up 53% of the total 2014 crop, and Bartlett and Bosc pears are expected to yield 22% and 15% respectively.

The updated estimates for the organic portion of the Northwest pear crop have increased proportionally, showing a total of 976,780 standard 44-lb box equivalents (21,489 tons) of organic pears in the 2014 harvest.  This is an increase of about 3% when compared to the 2013 record organic crop, and a 16.6% increase over the five-year average.

“Compared to last year’s record crop, this crop is more consistent with the five-year average,” said Pear Bureau Northwest’s president and CEO, Kevin Moffitt.  “We’re looking forward to another crop of excellent quality and fruit size to meet the demands of the domestic and export markets. Our representatives across North America and around the world have a full season of promotions in place to help boost sales, and we’re looking forward to working with our retail partners in another successful pear season.”

www.freshplaza.com

NW shippers moving through big pear crop

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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.

www.thepacker.com

US: Pear harvest strong in Pacific Northwest

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Oregon and Washington’s combined pear harvest will approach a record this year, with growers and packers reporting a heavy yield of large, high-quality fruit.

Estimates made in June, well before picking began, projected a fresh market harvest of 19.8 million 44-pound boxes, the standard measurement unit. The estimate was 4 percent larger than the five-year average, and would have made it the third largest crop grown by the Wenatchee and Yakima regions of Washington and the Mid-Columbia and Medford regions of Oregon.

Some growers were hard-pressed to find enough pickers at peak harvest in mid-September, when the Hood River Valley alone employed about 1,800 pickers a day. The crunch has passed, however. Growers in the upper valley, where fruit comes on later than at lower elevations, will finish picking soon, said Jean Godfrey, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers in Hood River.

“We have a very heavy crop, a beautiful crop, larger than normal,” Godfrey said.
Nathan Duckwall, assistant production manager at Duckwall Fruit in Odell, said his company may pack 10 percent more boxes than last year. “We had really good growing conditions this year, a good hot summer,” he said. “The size of the fruit is really big, too.”

The larger the pears, the fewer it takes to fill a box, which results in increased box production numbers. No matter the final production numbers, the harvest marks another good turn for Oregon and Washington pear growers.

About one-third of the crop that moves through Duckwall is exported. Top export markets include Mexico, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong and India. The latter is one of the strongest growth market for Northwest growers, according to Pear Bureau Northwest, a non-profit marketing firm that represents about 1,600 growers in Oregon and Washington.

China opened its door to U.S. pears for the first time in February, and is projected to become a top 10 market for Northwest growers within three years, according to the Pear Bureau. Pears packed by Duckwall were the first into China, Nathan Duckwall said. He’s cautious about the future impact of that market, however. “I don’t think it will be that big,” he said. “It’s significant, but it’s not a game changer.”

www.freshplaza.com