Pear Estimates 2020 Pt 2

Pear Estimates 2020 Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The first official estimate for fresh pears in Washington and Oregon is out and, with a crop of about 366,000 tons of fresh pears expected, slightly above last year’s crop, things are looking pretty good.

Pear Bureau Northwest’s Kathy Stephenson says even in this pandemic, the export markets will offer some challenges AND some opportunities …

STEPHENSON … “You know, I think that all of the domestic and Canadian markets have certainly accelerated their ‘click and collect’ and in some of the markets that we export to that is fairly developed and in some markets there’s even better development of that digital purchasing and delivery.”

And, Stephenson says there are still some in-person opportunities out there …

STEPHENSON … “There’s some social distancing opportunities that we have and they’re really looking hard at any other in-store activities that they can hand out, maybe a whole pear instead of slicing pears. So, yes, they are having to take a good hard look at their plans and make adjustments accordingly in a lot of those export markets.”

But, Stephenson says some countries are further along in their COVID recovery, which should help …

STEPHENSON … “Yeah, no question, there’s two or three markets that we could identify, including New Zealand, that are farther along in their movement away from the pandemic concerns. So, there’s probably two or three markets that really should have more like business as usual.”

Listen tomorrow for more … on this year’s pear crop amid the pandemic.

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BL: Welcome back to another “Fruit Bites” brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us as always is Valent’s Allison Walston. And this week Allison, we’re finding more “Murder Hornets” … or AGH …

AW: The 7th Asian Giant Hornet has been detected. Washington State Department of Agriculture deployed baited traps this summer, full of a combo of orange juice and rice wine. These traps have caught an unmated queen on July 14 and the first male on July 29th.

BL: Where were they found?

AW: All have been found in Whatcom county. WSDA is intensifying their search. The traps are intended to keep the hornets alive so entomologists can attempt to trace them back to their colonies. Remember that we are worried that they will become established and ransack our honeybee hives.

BL: Are they active all year?

AW: They are most likely active July thru October and dormant over the winter. They nest in the ground. Be on the lookout but don’t kill other wasps & hornets. Take a picture if possible.

BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I’m Bob Larson.

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