In this last Global Market Overview for 2024, the focus is on pears with harvest volumes differing across European growing countries. In France the harvest is higher, while Italy is recovering. The Netherlands and Belgium started with lower stocks after the damage from last spring's hailstorm. Spain's volumes are lower too, while prices are high. In Germany domestic pear cultivation is expanding.
South Africa increased exports to Europe and their new market of India. North America has shorter domestic supply due to the shortest pear crops in history.
France: Dynamic sales of French products
Announced at 119,000 tonnes last August, the French pear harvest was revised upwards in November to 134,000 tonnes. This tonnage is well above forecasts, thanks to good weather conditions: the Guyot variety is up 61% on 2023, while Williams, Conference and new varieties are also progressing.
After a very successful start, the French pear campaign continues with good commitment from French retailers. Sales are dynamic and price levels are good. Since France produces more than it consumes, the majority of pears on the market are French. Small quantities of Italian Abate Fetel and Rocha pears from Portugal are also on the market.
Italy: production recovers from 2023 but remains below full capacity
The Italian pear sector is going through a difficult production period, but there are good signs of recovery. The president of Italy's largest association of Abate pear growers said: "The 2024 harvest, although not abundant, would allow us to return to being the benchmark for all major Italian and European customers until the end of the trading season". The quantities available are more than double those of 2023, although still far from the full production potential of its members. For the 2024/25 campaign, there is an optimal size and shelf life to cover the entire marketing season. Prices are higher than in the pre-crisis period, but not enough to compensate producers for the reduction in field yields.
According to CSO Italy, around 400,000 tonnes were produced in Italy last season (including waste products and those for industrial processing), which is +118% compared to 2023 but around -20% compared to 2022. The level of production, generally characterised by essentially normal to good yields, nevertheless seems to be about 30% below Italy's production capacity. In the context of a recovery in supply in 2024, climatic conditions were again a factor. In the Emilia-Romagna region, which despite the decline remains the leading region in Italy, just over 240,000 tonnes were harvested in 2024, compared with 99,000 tonnes the previous year. In the other regions of northern Italy, production has returned to more regular levels, albeit in a context of declining areas; in central and southern Italy, the 2024 supply is satisfactory, also higher than last year.
The Angys pear campaign was launched at the beginning of December. The product is excellent in both quality and quantity. Fifty percent of the pears are between 75 and 85 mm in size. This season's Angys pears are characterised by high Brix levels.
According to YouGov, pears are bought by 53% of Italian households. The fruit continues to be bought around six times a year, with a peak in September and October.
Netherlands: More control in pear trade with producers
The hailstorm from last spring, which affected almost all of the Netherlands and Belgium, has clearly left its mark on the pears, says a Dutch pear exporter. According to him, suitable solutions have been found with most retail and wholesale partners. Sales are steady, but not particularly high. The season started with lower stocks: in the Netherlands, the starting stock was 9% smaller than last year, and in Belgium it was even 30% lower. However, during the season, a notable development has been observed. In November, the Conference pear stock was only 4% lower than in 2023, but by December, this gap had increased to 8%.
For years, pear prices have been dictated by retail and distribution parties, with growers often being overlooked. In some years, growers have even been forced to sell their fruit below cost. However, there seems to be a shift happening now, with more control shifting to the producers. This brings a new dynamic to the industry.
Belgium: sharply lower volumes, but sales at fine prices
Stocks at the beginning of the season have shown that although there is some 30 per cent less volume than last year, sales are still running smoothly, a Belgian trader points out. "We don't have to complain about that. We have actually sold more until December than we should have in order to be empty in time. However, we'd rather see a year where we sell out too early than have any left over, so that's positive. If prices are correct, as they are, quality remains good and growers are happy, the task now is to sell further. The end of the season always gives question marks anyway, so it is better to be in control than to gamble on the end of the season. Right now, it is all falling silent for a while towards New Year. Migrant workers are going home to celebrate the holidays and sorting stops for a while for many, but it will all pick up again in the second week of the new year. The hope then is that people won't forget to sell."
Spain: Prices above average for the Spanish harvest
In Spain, the country's largest pear-producing region, Catalonia, has experienced a significant drop in production due to the lack of flowering in spring and the evolution of the fruit during the summer. At the end of August, the harvest forecasts were updated, anticipating a 43% drop compared to last year and 45% compared to the average of the last 5 years, which for the Conference variety stands at 58% year-on-year, going from 61,100 t in 2023 to 25,470 t in 2024.
As for the organic pear campaign, "we have not suffered as much from the drop in production that has occurred in conventional pears," says an operator from Lleida. "In fact, we will be at 80% of the production of a standard year."
Prices are currently above last campaign. In the case of the Conference pear, at the beginning of December they were 67.4% above average, and 17.8% in the case of the Blanquilla pear.
"With regard to demand, in general during the Christmas season it is a little slower because there is competition in consumption with other products, many of them more exotic, and the pear usually lags behind in this interference of supply; therefore, as in other years, we hope to start the campaign strongly after the holidays."
Germany: Domestic pear cultivation expanding
There were no major highlights in terms of sales. As before, Italian and Turkish deliveries dominated the trade. Shipments from the Netherlands and Belgium supplemented this. Domestic deliveries were mainly Xenia, Conference and Alexander Lucas. Price changes compared to the previous week were rare and not particularly significant, provided the quality of the products was rather convincing. In some wholesale markets like Cologne, Italian Abate Fetel became cheaper, in Munich they became more expensive due to supply. In Frankfurt, too, people generally had to pay a little more for Italian products.
Pears are currently experiencing a renaissance in the Altes Land region (near Hamburg). "Fruit growers are increasingly planting new orchards," observes Dr. Matthias Görgens, deputy director of the Jork fruit-growing research institute. This year, he expects a harvest of around 9,000 tons, grown on around three percent of the area on the Lower Elbe. "Pears require more warmth than apples, for example, and are ripening better as a result of climate change and rising average temperatures," he says, explaining the expansion of cultivation. The Conference, Alexander Lukas and Xenia varieties are grown on the Lower Elbe, all of which are suitable for fresh consumption.
South Africa: Late start to season with average sized crop expected
The pear export estimate for South Africa's upcoming season will be released in January. The pear market is still positive, says the deciduous fruit industry body Hortgro. "Europe is still our biggest export market with 34% of all exports. This is also a 25% increase year-on-year. Far East Asia and the Middle East are at 20% and 17% market shares respectively."
India has been a success story for South African pears, which (together with apples) enjoys the advantage of in transit-cold treatment, shortening the in transit period, while stonefruit are subject to land based cold treatment or fumigation in India.
During the past season Packham's Triumph had a lighter crop. Forelle and Abate Fetel realised better volumes, Hortgro says, and were respectively up by 19% and 26%. "Summer pear exports [during 2024] also performed better than last year with significant increases in Rosemarie, Cheeky, Celina and Comice."
North America: Shorter domestic pear supply
The Pacific Northwest has one of the shortest pear crops in recent history, largely due to climate issues. Spring weather affected the crop and varieties such as Bosc didn't produce as much while Bartletts saw frost.
Bartlett pears will likely finish up mid to late February and Bosc is on track to finish in March–two months earlier than usual. Anjou pears should be available until June–they are usually available through July and even into August.
Meanwhile, pear consumption has grown with the millennial generation, adding to the challenge of managing supply. Also helping with growing consumption is the good eating quality pears have this year. However, demand right now is adequate.
This is making pricing challenging given it's hard to raise the price FOB high enough to make up for lower volume. Pricing on pears is stronger though this season.
This means the door might be opened earlier to imports this season. In Canada, South African pears will begin harvesting pears in weeks 52-week 1, and a normal crop with similar volumes to last year is expected.
This is the last Global Market for 2024. The next topic will be on Friday, 10 January, 2025.