"The mature Nanguo pear looks great in colour and tastes fresh and juicy. It has a very light, white wine fragrance and consumers who have tasted Nanguo pears consider them to be the the "king of pears". Unfortunately we are rather behind in the marketing and promotion of this great fruit. Currently Nanguo pears are only sold in three provinces of northeast China. During the upcoming ripe season, we plan to promote this pear variety to other provinces in China, so that more consumers will have the chance to taste the "king of all pears". Explained Mr. Zhang from Guofeng Nanguo Pear Cooperative in Haicheng city, Liaoning province.
"Nanguo pears' harvest season starts at the end of August or the beginning of September. Its fruits are relatively small, and weigh around 50-70 grams per pear. In contrast to other domestic pear varieties, the Nanguo pear has to be stored at low temperatures for around 7 days after the harvest, so that their colour, taste and fragrance can be optimised. The newly picked Nanguo pears are green in colour, sometimes with a touch of redness. After one week's storage, the skin will gradually become yellow or red. After natural fermentation, its taste becomes more delicate and sweet."
The newly picked Nanguo pears
Nanguo pears after one week's storage
"Nanguo pears are very sensitive to temperature, soil and sunlight conditions. In the beginning, they were planted only in Anshan city in Liaoning province. The oldest Nanguo pear trees are over 130 years, and they still bear fruits. As this pear variety is very popular in the Northeast region, its plantation areas gradually expanded to other cities in this region. In recent years, Nanguo pear trees were planted in Inner Mongolia and Hebei provinces as well. It is worth pointing out that its price can vary greatly as the quality varies considerably from region to region. This is a very serious problem for the whole Nanguo pear market.
Mr. Zhang in his Nanguo pear plantation base
" After realising this issue, we decided to focus on the pear's place of origin as the market can only be expanded if the quality remains at the same high level. This year the overall Nanguo pear quality is very good, and its skin looks very smooth. As for its sugar level, it is normally between 15-20. Our Cooperative can harvest around 10 million kilos, and these are distributed to wholesale markets and some supermarkets."
During the current season, we expect to find more reliable partners to expand our sales channels such as supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, and wechat shops etc. so that our Nanguo pears can be sold to southern markets such as Delata and Southwest regions etc. In the near future we hope more consumers will have the chance to taste authentic Nanguo pears from Liaoning province."
For more information about Nanguo pears, please contact:
Mr. Zhang
Guofeng Nanguo Pear Cooperative, Haicheng city, Liaoning province
Telephone (+86) 130 6549 2011