The supply of South African pears shipping into Canada is good this season. "Overall this year, our green pear supply–the Bartletts–is a little bit more than last year. Forelles are also a little bit higher than last year while Boscs are down from last year. Though as a company, we probably have the same volume of pears as we did last year," says Peter Martino of FPD East Inc.
Bartlett, Vermont Beauty pears. Photo: FPD East.
FPD East ships South African pears into Canada beginning in February and ending in September. "The pears were actually earlier this year. There are always shipping and vessel delays but that has nothing to do with the growers," he says. For example, while the Bartlett pears began two weeks earlier this year, because of those delays, they arrived at the same time as last year. Its Forelles and Vermont Beauty supplies should finish up by the end of August.
No pear oversupply
As for demand, it looks to be steady for South African pears. "The markets have been steady all season long and prices are pretty much where we were last year," says Martino, noting that the pears haven't suffered the same fate as the offshore apples given the impact of Washington's sizable apple crop this season. "With pears, there's no oversupply and it's pretty similar to previous years," says Martino. The market is anticipated to stay steady over the next few weeks as well.
Forelle pears. Photo: FPD East.
He does note that movement is a bit stronger this year and what could contribute to that is the continued move in the category towards grab-and-go pear options. For FPD East, it's doing more in consumer packs such as a 2-kilo tray of pears, which it offers from January to August on green pears. It's also doing a 1-kilo bag and a 4 and 5 lb. pack. "Consumer packs seem to be growing and are seeing a bigger share of the sales over bulk," says Martino.
For more information:
Peter Martino
FPD East
Tel: +1 (514) 631-4141
[email protected]
www.fpdeast.com