The first shipments of organic Williams Bartlett pears from Argentina have arrived at the U.S. ports of Philadelphia and Los Angeles. "Harvest started the second week of January, which is even a few days earlier than the yearly average," says Chris Ford with Viva Tierra Organic. Weather has been good during bloom, resulting in good overall volume and fruit size. "The fruit is looking great on the trees."
With virtually no domestically grown Bartlett pears available in the U.S. market anymore, demand for Bartletts from Argentina is strong. All indicators are pointing towards a successful season ahead. "Demand is very good, and supply should be able to meet that demand," commented Ford. "Sizing on some varieties is larger than normal and better suited for the North American market. Additionally, Argentina is expecting a clean crop, leading to a relatively high share available for the fresh market and more limited volume going into processing. These indicators combined could result in total pear volume exceeding historic levels.
The availability of pears from Argentina is expected to last through July, until the new pear crop from California begins. While Williams Bartlett is Argentina's earliest and largest pear variety, the country also grows Red Bartlett, Durondeau, and Abate Fetel. These will be followed by Alex Lucas, Bosc, d'Anjou, and Autumn Bartlett. Supplies will gradually build up, reaching peak availability in April and May.
Southern hemisphere apples
Although the Argentine pears are first to arrive from the Southern Hemisphere, apples will follow in a few months. "We bring in apples from New Zealand and Chile as well as Argentina to a more limited extent," shared Ford. For import apples, the focus is on core varieties like Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji and Cripps Pink.
Galas are currently being harvested and the first arrivals in the U.S. are expected early April. While some domestic organic apple varieties, like Cripps Pink turned out to have higher volume than initially anticipated, Ford believes there will always be room in the marketplace for high quality, new crop apples, regardless of the size of Washington's storage crop. "Besides, later season organic Honeycrisp are certainly struggling in terms of volume and quality which leads to accelerated sales on other core varieties like Fuji. By the time April comes around, we will be ready for imports to enter the market," he said.
Viva Tierra Organic is very proud of their organic apple and pear import programs. "We have been importing organic pears and apples from the Southern Hemisphere for over 30 years and the growers we work with feel like family. It's always an exciting time of year when the import season starts."
For more information:
Chris Ford
Viva Tierra Organic
Tel: 831-917-7321
chris@vivatierra.com
www.vivatierra.com