Pears out of British Columbia, Canada are seeing a strong crop. “They’ve come through the weather events with very little damage or issues at all,” says Bryan Key, category director with The Star Group based in Kelowna, B.C., who notes that its pear grower/packer, Day’s Century Growers, has the only dedicated pear line in Canada. Bartlett volume was up this year though The Star Group sold out sooner on that variety than last year. “Now we’re focused on Green Anjous, Red Anjous, Bosc and we supply Harrow Crisp to small customers,” says Key.
The Star Group is also just getting some pear trees for new varieties to put into test orchards to see how they grow in the region. “The pear category is an underdeveloped category for retailers,” says Key, noting that it also is into its third year with its conditioning rooms for Anjou pears. “They’ve really rejuvenated the Anjou variety. They’re ready to eat faster than they used to be and we’ve noticed once the conditioning is done, the sugars and taste are even better,” he says.
B.C. apple update
Meanwhile on apples, Key says it’s a crop with strong quality fruit complete with good internal pressures and sugars. “We are down on volume though, especially on Honeycrisp and Ambrosia,” he says, also noting that Gala apples are down slightly in size, though it has a manageable amount of small fruit. All of this traces back to a few different weather events starting with the heat dome in 2021 that still had some lingering effects on the trees. “We also had a freeze in the winter that was extended and very cold so those poor trees went from a heat dome to a freeze and they are still recouping from that,” says Key. “Things were really really late this year with a cool and wet spring. Then in the fall, we had a really warm October. We didn’t get the cool nights so the color on some varieties suffered a bit because of it.”
That said, demand is strong and exceeds supply. “The pricing has been excellent but we’ll have to push up to slow things down a bit. We’re going to be done much earlier this year compared to previous years with the demand and with the lighter crop,” he says, noting it’ll finish about a month earlier with Galas which will possibly wrap up by early February and Ambrosia in March.
Looking ahead, he sees demand only increasing. “Especially as some independent shippers in the valley run out of fruit. The pressure on the remaining packers will be even higher,” says Key.
For more information:
Bryan Key
The Star Group
Tel: +1 (250) 868-1400
bryank@cfp-ltd.ca
https://cfp-ltd.ca/