Pear Harvest Pt 2
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We told you yesterday that Pacific Northwest pear growers are putting the finishing touches on this year's harvest that looks to be slightly below August estimates of 18.3-million boxes with pears slightly smaller than average.Pear Bureau Northwest's Kathy Stephenson says falling below the estimates isn't necessarily a bad thing ...
KATHY STEPHENSON ... "As far as the growing season goes, it's not a bad thing for our crops to be too low. It definitely helps us to move the crop in a profitable manner. So, the grower returns, while there's fewer boxes, typically the price that they're charging, you know, is up. So, hopefully, we're returning more to the growers for every single box that is sold."
And, Stephenson says prices are likely to be good so demand for pears is obviously there ...
KATHY STEPHENSON ... "So, we've got information showing that demand is great. People, and the right people including our upcoming millennials, are eating a lot of pears. So, we're continuing to push on the nutrition and fun, easy ways of adding pears to our menu, and talking with influencers using social media, all those ways we can intersect with those millennials who are our key target for purchasing right now."
Stephenson says the Pear Bureau is out there aggressively promoting Northwest Pears and doing everything they can to get the word out about the nutritional value and great taste of the pears we grow.
She says growers are enthusiastic and will spend the winter months preparing for another great season for all varieties of Northwest pears.