ISHS Acta Horticulturae 800: X International Pear Symposium
STATUS OF THE PEAR PRODUCTION IN EUROPE |
| Authors: | T. Deckers, H. Schoofs |
| Keywords: | Pyrus communis, dessert pear |
| Abstract:
Within the European Union the economic situation for pear growing is substantially different from the situation of apple growing. While there is a worldwide crisis in apple production and prices, the economics of pear production are much better and pears have become an interesting way of economic diversification within modern fruit orchards. Pear growing has become a more specialised crop that can be grown best only in specific areas. As well on the cultivar side as on the rootstock side, pear growing has its natural limits concerning the production area. Considering the rootstock, it is quite risky to produce pears on Quince rootstocks in countries where the temperatures go below -25°C and winter frost damage occurs. Considering the cultivars, 'Conference' pears produced in the southern production areas are totally different in fruit shape from the ‘Conference’ pears produced in the northern production areas. Pears can be considered as an important export product and during the last decade new markets have emerged. Russia is a new important export market for pear fruits with Moscow and St. Petersburg very fast growing markets. Recently the first export of 'Conference' pears was undertaken successfully from Belgium to China. Within Europe it is often thought that the extension of the European Union to the East would result in a stronger competition for fruit production due to the differences in the costs of hand labour, but on the other hand, there is a strong increase in the purchasing power in these countries, so creating more demand for the pears. The total European pear production is rather stable and has fluctuated during the last few years between 2 and 2.5 million ton. Italy and Spain are the most important pear producing countries and account for more than 65% of the total European pear production. In Italy, the mean pear production has stabilised at around 0.9 million tons. This means that the outbreak of important diseases like the bacterial disease fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) in 1995 and the presence of the fungal disease Brown rot (Stemphyllium vesicarium) have not substantially changed the Italian pear production level. The same conclusion can be drawn for pear production in Spain that fluctuates at around 0.6 million tons. Pear production in France is decreasing and here fire blight problems on the pear cultivar 'Passe Crassane' played a decisive role. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in France in the new pear cultivar 'Angélys', but today it is too early to speak about a real expansion. In the Netherlands and in Belgium, there is a substantial increase in the pear production area, which is primarily due to the expansion of the pear cultivar 'Conference'. In both countries, the area of 'Conference' has increased strongly during the last decade and will increase further in the near future: evolution has not yet stopped. Within the pear cultivar 'Conference', there has been the development of an early ripening mutant under the name 'Corina Conference'. This mutant has all the characteristics of the standard 'Conference' pear but is three weeks earlier in fruit ripening. This allows for the creation of a year round market with the same 'Conference' pear cultivar; standard 'Conference' pears under ULO conditions can be stored until June, and the first new pears of the ‘Corina Conference’ mutant can be expected on the market in the beginning of August. Recently in 2007, the first signs of an over saturation of the 'Conference' market appeared. This indicates a strong need for a better diversification within the European pear cultivars. Already during the pear symposium in Italy in 2000 many new pear cultivars were proposed but until now, there has been no real break-through for any one of them. There is not only a need for a new standard pear cultivar, but also a new bicoloured pear cultivar would be very interesting. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
