Adding A Second Size

Adding A Second Size. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Some time back my 91-year old mother called and said she had an apple for me. Yes, she still likes to giver her little boy a present now and then. Well this had to be the largest Honey Crisp apple I had ever seen. The largest apple period I had ever seen. It was easily shared by my wife, grandson and myself. While it was quite novel I doubt that even I could have finished it by myself. Kevin Moffitt, President of Pear Bureau Northwest says that they are pushing retailers to carry more than one size of fruit as a way to reach a broader consumer base.

MOFFITT: Frankly a large pear or a large apple or even a large banana, a lot of kids aren’t going to finish that entire piece of fruit. And I think that todays consumers are looking for a bit of a value and they’re watching the waste and so putting a second size in for families with smaller children is a great opportunity.

Many retailers are discovering that they can package a dozen small pieces of fruit in a bag and sell more fruit. The pear harvest should soon be wrapping up and it looks like prices for the 2011 pear crop are looking good.

MOFFITT: I think we have a very manageable crop this year. It’s large. It’ll be our 3rd or 4th largest so it’s not a record crop but there is plenty of fruit available. I think we have an opportunity for very good pricing in a large crop year.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.