Pears and Year Ahead Pt 1

Pears and Year Ahead Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. As we begin a new year, many of us are looking back at the highs and lows of the year past.

Pear Bureau Northwest CEO Kevin Moffitt says they certainly saw their share of ups and downs in the pear industry, but even the lows weren’t that bad …

MOFFITT … “Well, we’ve got a little bit smaller crop that was harvested in 2019, In the fall. So, we started out a little bit shorter in terms of overall tonnage, but I think, as we move through the market, I think we’re going to end up with, hopefully, a little bit better outlook looking back at this season. Compared to last year, I think it will be a better outlook overall, which often happens when you have a smaller crop.”

But, Moffitt says that down production was thrown at least one curve ball …

MOFFITT … “Well, the one issue that we have, that people are really, mostly concerned about are Red Anjou pears this year. That’s a variety that was quite a bit up in a down year. So, like I say, we were down about 9% overall in our crop compared to last year, but the Red Anjou production was up 23%. So, it’s the one variety that was up in all of the varieties and up big.”

So, Moffitt says here in the early months of 2020, don’t be surprised if you see more red pears …

MOFFITT … “We have some plans in place to work around January, February, March are some good months for promoting red pears specifically. We’ve got “Heart Healthy” month. All the varieties are American Heart Association certified as being heart healthy, but we’ll be promoting reds especially with that designation for the month of February.”

Tune in tomorrow for more. On the outlook for pears in 2020.

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