Pears: the first harvest estimate announces a decline in volume

At the annual PBNW (Pear Bureau Northwest) meeting, members established the 1st estimate of the 2019-20 fresh pear crop for the states of Washington and Oregon. The volume will be down by about 9% compared with the previous season.

 

 

 

This first official estimate announces 17.3 million boxes (44 lbs = 19.9 kg), about 380 000 tons. This volume is 9% lower than the 2018 harvest and 6% lower than the five-year average.

 

 

 

Harvest dates are expected approximately 1 week later than the 2018-19 season. The Starkrimson variety is expected to be harvested in the first 2 weeks of August, with the Bartlett harvest scheduled for mid-August. The variety Anjou is expected in the last week of August. The Bosc and Comice varieties will start in mid-August. The varieties Concorde, Forelle and Seckel will be picked in August and September.

 

 

 

For organic pears the harvest estimate is 1.76 million boxes (38,800 tonnes), or 10% of Northwest's total harvest. This estimate marks a 20% increase in organic pears available on the market compared to the 2018 harvest.