Ercolini pear growers in Murcia are hoping that, as predicted by the Spanish weather service Aemet, the extreme southeast of the Iberian Peninsula will eventually not get the heavy rain and hailstorms expected for the coming days.
The harvest will begin in a matter of days, "at the end of next week or the beginning of the following one," says Paco Fernández from the PDO Pera de Jumilla. "We are still waiting to see what will happen, but for now, things are looking quite good."
"In some places, there has been a poor flowering at times, but it hasn't been as bad as in other areas of Spain. In general, it has gone well. We should perhaps be a little more concerned about the fruit's growth."
"The Ercolini pear has certain peculiarities. The first blossom is the one producing the largest pears, and after the first harvest, some fruits no longer grow. However, this has been a highly irregular blossom, so the size will depend a lot on how the fruit develops in the last few days. In any case, it is going to be a normal season in terms of kilos, with a production volume of around 5,000 tons and a very good quality, because the fruit hasn't been affected by any problems," says Paco, recalling the losses caused by last year's heat stress, which resulted in up to 50% of the fruit being affected in some plots.
"Given this and the drop in the production expected in some Spanish areas and in other countries in Europe, we are expecting good prices this year, at least at the beginning of the season. When Conference pears arrive in September/October, the price of the Ercolini always falls, although this will naturally depend on the Conference production this season and on the demand."
The forecast for this year is that Italy could once again become one of the main importers of Spanish pears. "It has always been a very important buyer of Murcia's Ercolini pears, especially of those under the umbrella of the PDO Pera de Jumilla, which they really appreciate, and for which Italy is the main export market," says Paco.
"Last year, due to the losses caused by the heat, there was a shortage of pears and we couldn't sell as many to the Italian market as we would have liked, but we hope that this year the DANA (Isolated Depression at High Altitudes) won't harm us, and that the season won't be spoiled in the last few days. Nevertheless, some rains would actually be needed, as there are vines and olive trees that won't bear fruit and are dying due to the lack of water. I had never in my life seen a situation like the one we are going through at the moment."
For more information:
Pera de Jumilla DO
Pl. Alcoholera 3, 2nd Floor,
Jumilla, Murcia, Spain
Tel.: +34 96 871 6267
[email protected]
https://www.peradejumilla.es