Pear growers in the U.S. Northwest are expecting volume to be up 2% at 414,000 metric tons (MT) this year, or the equivalent of 18.7 million standard box equivalents.

In a release, USA Pears said the estimate from Washington State's Wenatchee and Yakima regions and Oregon’s Mid-Columbia and Medford regions, represented a 7% decrease from the five-year average however.

The forecast was made following annual meetings in Portland last week, where growers discussed how warm spring weather and good pollination had led to a full bloom.

No significant weather events have hurt the fruit finish.

"Growers are reporting beautiful, clean fruit that is filling out nicely in terms of fruit size,” said Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) CEO Kevin Moffitt.

Harvest is expected slightly earlier than historical average, but similar to the last two years, with Starkrimson expected in the last days of July, Bartlett in the first days of August, and Anjou, Bosc, and Comice in the last two weeks of August across the four growing regions.

Concorde, Forelle, and Seckel will be picked from late August through September.

The top three varieties produced by Northwest growers remain the same as in previous years: Green Anjou pears are anticipated to make up 50% of the total 2016 crop, and Bartlett and Bosc pears are expected to yield 23% and 17%, respectively.

Green Anjou pears are showing a projected crop decrease of 3% compared with 2015, and a 13% drop compared to the five-year average. Growers estimate that the Bartlett pear crop yield will increase by 9% year-on-year, matching the five-year average.

The Bosc pear crop increase is expected to be 4% over the 2015 harvest, 3% higher than the five-year average. The size of the Red Anjou pear crop is expected to be up 3% year-on-year, but down by 3% compared to the five-year average.

Harvest of certified organic pears in the Northwest is projected to make up about 6% of the crop, with 1.1 million standard boxes (24,279MT) for 2016, up 14% year-on-year. The organic Green Anjou crop is expected to be 430,000 standard boxes, while the Green Bartlett and Bosc crop sizes are estimated at 310,000 and 235,000 standard boxes respectively.

“The industry expects a crop of excellent quality fruit with ample supplies for both the domestic and export markets,” Moffitt said.

“The Pear Bureau will help keep demand for pears high worldwide through marketing communications, educational and promotional programs, and consumer sampling at retail and at events, maximizing profits for growers.”

The PBNW highlighted that at the beginning of each season its staff would be providing U.S. and Canadian retail buyers with customized category analysis showing their pear category performance compared to their competition. The analysis identifies opportunity gaps and the pear team suggests best practices and promotions to improve pears sales and profits for retailers.

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