Estimated at almost 139,000 tons by the Office of Statistics and Forecasting at the start of November 2015, French table pear production was higher than that of 2014, but bellow the 2010-2014 average (-2%). The service that undertook the study says that “This change in production over a year hides the disparities between pear types”.
Summer pears increased following a lower production year in 2014, whilst autumn and winter pears decreased. In the PACA region, winter pear yield was better thanks to the autumnal rainfall, whilst the Guyot pear will have a slightly lower production than expected due to the summer heatwave that led to small fruits. In the Rhone-Alpes, mild temperatures in October matured the fruit, but some fell due to the wind. The production is expected to have decreased over the year.
In the Languedoc-Roussillon, the harvest was bigger than last year, despite a dry and hot summer. Despite an increase in acreage in the Pays de la Loire, production has decreased compared to 2014. Autumn and winter varieties will have less yield than last year.
In Aquitaine, acreage, which has been strongly decreasing over the last five years, is stable compared to 2014. There is a clear alternation for the Comice variety which saw the summer heatwave lead to leaves prematurely falling. Other varieties have a more regular potential, but below 2014, which was particularly high. In the Centre region volume is close to that of 2014.