After the good weather conditions in the spring in Europe, the WAPA estimated the pear harvest at 2.3 million tons. After the long hot summer, those figures have been adjusted slightly downwards. In the US, a good harvest is expected and Australia also wants to showcase its qualities to the world market.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast increases in South African production of apples, pears and table grapes in 2018-19, thanks in part to greater water availability.

The weather’s cool and there’s even been some welcome and, in places, heavy rain in the southwestern Cape, just as the pear harvest is picking up steam.

With pear supplies waning on the domestic market, importers in North America have turned to the offshore season to maintain supplies for the next few months. While South America gets a lot of the attention, some companies have a consistent supply coming from South Africa. F.P.D. East, based in Montreal, begin their South African pear import season at the end of January and with different varieties, have steady supplies up until the end of August.

The Italian pear sector is struggling. Despite the relatively limited volumes available, prices remain low. The sector is experiencing quality problems in both Spain and the Netherlands. In France, consumption is lagging behind, while European pears are selling quickly on the German market.

Europe is moving closer to self-sufficiency in pears and one encounters European pears in an increasing array of places, like the Middle East or the Far East, say South African pear traders.

The price of pears is currently normal in most European countries, but it is expected to rise in a few weeks.

The pear season has just started or is about to start in the southern hemisphere.

Fruit Farming in South Africa consist of a wide variety of fruits - from oranges and apples to table grapes and dragon fruit, South Africa is a land of fantastic fruit and one of the main fruit producing countries in the world.

South African apple exports set to grow by 4 per cent with pear shipments forecast to climb 6 per cent

Cold spells in the spring have wreaked havoc on some European pear producing countries, with a loss of up to 90% of some Italian varieties, and lower volumes expected in the Netherlands and Germany also experiencing losses.

Big and small producers are feeling the economic pressure and are uncertain about what the future holds.

The South Africa: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual report recently published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service predicts a recovery in South Africa’s apple and pear production for the 2023/24 season, following the havoc caused by hailstorms last season. Although apple and pear exports witnessed an overall decline during the 2022/23 season, exports to China resisted this trend with a remarkable 1,500% increase.