Pear Estimates Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The first official estimate of the 2021/22 fresh pear crop in Washington and Oregon is in and, given this year’s extreme weather, 16.1 million boxes is good news.
Kevin Moffitt, President of Pear Bureau Northwest, says with harvest in full swing, this year’s pears are looking really great …
MOFFITT … “Yeah, I’m pretty darned optimistic and I’m excited about our programs that we have to help promote this crop.”
Moffitt says this is very good news …
MOFFITT … “Yeah, very much so. It’s a good manageable crop, again, slightly below our four-year average, but a bit higher than last year which was a low, small crop. So, the highlight, again, as you mentioned, is the fact that the quality is excellent.”
So, Moffitt says you might not have to wait long for some great tasting pears …
MOFFITT … “This year I think we’re going to have some really great flavor. Probably, people won’t have to wait a long time to get their fruit ripe and sweet and juicy, and so we will be highlighting that as well.”
And the weather, Moffitt says may have helped the ripening process …
MOFFITT … “We are getting more ripened fruit or riper fruit on to the store shelves so that fruit can be enjoyed within one to three days after the consumer purchases it. And, that’s exactly what the consumer wants.
They don’t want to wait around for three to five days or longer for a fruit to ripen or a pear to ripen.”
Washington and Oregon are home to 87% of the U.S. commercial fresh pear crop.
The organic pear estimate is 1.94 million boxes, nearly 12% of the total Northwest crop.
