Argentinian pears are arriving in the U.S. and one shipper saw its first arrivals last week in the Port of Philadelphia and the Port of Los Angeles. "Right now it's Bartlett pears through our partner Kleppe SA and then we'll have some Flamingos soon and then Bosc pears," says Sarah Barkley of CMI Orchards, LLC, adding that it will also bring in Anjous.
While both the harvest and packing of pears started earlier this year in Argentina, shipping delays mean the arrivals look as per usual in the U.S. CMI will ship pears from Argentina through the middle of August.
As far as the domestic crop, the company is winding down on Bosc pears from the Pacific Northwest and those should be finished by the middle of April–normally they finish shipping in May. Meanwhile, on Anjous, it's about six weeks ahead of where it usually is in shipping and the company should be finished in June, though Red Anjous will be done at the end of May–a much earlier finish on the variety. Bartlett pears just finished and they usually wrap up sometime in March.
Weather impacting 2024 domestic crop
This follows a smaller 2024 crop of pears overall from the Pacific Northwest. "There was a hard freeze in January last year that impacted a lot of the viable buds. We also had cold temperatures during bloom which impacted the finish quality of the fruit," says Barkley, adding that what was set, had a fair bit of frost damage. "It's mostly aesthetic but it doesn't fall within the specs to pack for fresh." Of all the varieties, Bartlett was affected the most by this, and then Anjous. (Bosc, which saw the biggest drop in volume, was affected the most by the January 2024 freeze.)
As for demand, it has been strong for pears. "We have been able to hold good pricing that's higher than normal and the movement has been consistent across the board," says Barkley. "It looks like we'll have some record returns to our growers though even with record bin returns, it will not offset the loss of having reduced bins. Most growers and warehouses operated at a loss this season due to the severe crop reduction."
Looking ahead, as the domestic crop finishes with good demand and timely movement with fruit that's in good condition, the set for the upcoming crop already looks like there will be a good return bloom. Bloom should happen in April.
For more information:
Sarah Barkley
CMI Orchards, LLC
Tel: +1 (509) 888-3434
SarahB@cmiorchards.com
www.cmiorchards.com