Grown in Belgium since 2015, the Celina QTee® pear was harvested in Canada for the very first time this year. The red-blushed variety is a cross between a Williams pear and a Broket July. Over the years, the variety has witnessed global expansion and in addition to Belgium, it is now grown in several other European countries as well as South Africa, Australia, and Morocco. The variety is not commercially grown in North America yet.
However, opportunities may be on the horizon. Back in 2021, the variety was planted on a small scale in Ontario, Canada. "I just have one orchard here in the Georgian Bay area," says Dirk Roggeman who emigrated from Belgium to Canada in 2019. He planted the QTee variety in 2021, together with ABCz Group and Fruithandel Wouters, owners of the exclusive rights of the variety and the brand. "We planted the Celina trees under a test contract with the idea to introduce them in Canada and we just finished the first harvest." The pears are sold locally to retail stores as well as wholesale markets.
Testing phase in Canada
In Canada, the variety is in a testing phase. "We are gaining experience with growing and selling QTee and are looking to receive feedback from customers." Roggeman himself is very happy about the first harvest. "The pears have a nice size, they color up well, and they are resistant to fire blight. It's a beautiful variety and I really see potential for QTee to become a global brand," Roggeman added.
"Despite a favorable climate, Canada doesn't have a rich history in pear farming." Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are hardly any pear growers. "It's just me and I know of one other grower," Roggeman said. It's his goal for the QTee variety to successfully enter the Canadian market and grow in volume in the coming years.
The U.S. on the other hand has a much larger pear industry, especially in Washington and Oregon. However, the variety isn't grown in the U.S. yet. Last year, Proprietary Variety Management was granted the license to manage the pear variety in the U.S. At the time, the company said they were going to start with conducting consumer research surveys first and select a new trademark for branding the pear in the U.S.
In Europe, QTee has been very successful for a number of years now. "This is partly driven by ABCz Group and Wouters who share a lot of information about the variety with their growers," Roggeman concluded.
For more information:
Dirk Roggeman
Fruitbedrijf Roggeman
[email protected]
For information about the variety:
ABCz Group
[email protected]