The pear market is slowing down a bit at the moment. With Christmas approaching, many migrant workers are heading back to their home countries for the holidays, and sorting activities are temporarily on hold. "It means everything is on a bit of a hiatus. We are pruning until Friday, and then we'll have the Christmas break," says Wim Bijl of Bijl's Fruit. "It's a matter of getting things back on track by the second week of January."
Looking back at the first half of the season, the grower from Piershil in South Holland is moderately satisfied. "It has been a very challenging growing season. In the spring, we had a lot of hail and heavy rain, which caused significant damage. But in the end, the situation recovered reasonably well," Wim explains. "The rows were mostly spared, and we had a particularly nice, dry harvest. We already knew the yield wouldn't be terrible. In the end, we harvested 85% of what we did last year, and the quality was quite good overall. Internally, there's nothing wrong. Of course, there's some hail damage on a portion, but that's a universal issue. As the saying goes, 'A shared disaster is no disaster.'"
"Fortunately, the hail damage occurred early, so most of the marks have healed," he continues. "Some growers did experience hail during harvest, which is obviously much worse, but those pears are already off the market. In the stocks remaining now, the wounds have fused, so it should be fine. Varieties like Lucas and Doyenné du Comice are more sensitive, so you do occasionally see real dents there. However, the Conference pears are mostly looking good. We picked them early, and they went into storage in good condition."
Don't forget to sell
Regarding sales, Wim notes that things have gone reasonably well so far. "It's always hard to judge. We hear plenty of reports that everything is going fine, but with reduced harvesting, there are naturally fewer pears to start with. Still, we've noticed good demand from Germany, France, and Belgium. Prices are also solid, at around 85 to 90 euro cents per bin. It's just important that growers don't forget to sell. Some are holding out, hoping for higher prices, but eventually, the storage cells need to be emptied. You can't keep them indefinitely. I understand, of course. People are people, and 90 euro cents seems like a lot. But when you keep saying it to yourself, it can feel like less than you'd hoped for. Whether prices will rise further, I don't know. I wouldn't want to bet on it, but if you're earning close to a euro with 80% of your harvest, you should get through the season just fine."
For now, the market remains quiet. "This slowdown is typical for this time of year. Sorting has stopped because the workforce is spending the holidays with their families." Wim doubts that prices will spike as a result. "No, they rarely do. Buyers have already stocked up and will see the year through. Sometimes, a few late buyers need more stock, but it's not significant, so demand also drops. Overall, we'll have to look ahead to 2025. First, we'll get through the first two weeks of January, and then I expect activity to pick up around the 16th. By then, most people will be back, and operations should restart."
Room in the market
Looking at the second half of the season, Wim is optimistic that the market will rebound. "I don't think there's any reason to worry about sales. There's significantly less supply this year—we've already harvested 15% less than last year, and that wasn't a bumper crop either. For the last four years, the harvests haven't been overwhelming, which is a good thing. So, the market should be able to absorb it, provided no unforeseen events occur. You never know these days, with the geopolitical situation. But if things continue as they are, the pears should sell well for the rest of the season at decent prices."
"And then we're already looking ahead to the new season," Wim laughs. "We're pruning now, and the bud formation looks promising. So, we're optimistic about a positive new growing season."
For more information:
Wim Bijl
Bijl's Fruit B.V.
Oosthoek 10
3265 LE Piershil
Tel: +31 06 55 904 639
[email protected]