Steady Export of Belgian Pears is Followed by Frost Damage in 2022

Published 2022년 4월 29일

Exporters are satisfied with the ongoing situation in the pear market. Even though prices fluctuate, it is compensated with good demand and supply of the smaller caliber of pears. Trade flow shows that most Belgian pears end up in the EU market. Chinese demand for pears has steadily increased for Belgian pears despite COVID lockdowns. For Belgian pear producers, all eyes are on frost damage that occurred at the end of March 2022. Experts are reserved for making statements. The prognosis for CY 2022 is moderate for the time being.

For MY 2020, Belgian pear took a significant third place in the share of world pear exports, 10.2% share and a value of USD 277.3M. In MY 2022, unlike apples, the pear market is more favorable. Demand is good, despite the Russia-Ukraine crisis in Eastern Europe.

The Conference variety dominates the pear orchards in Belgium, with almost 90% represented in the production. For MY 2022, the price was fluctuating, currently holding at USD 0.70/kg. The highest price was on W5 of January 2022, at USD 1.28/kg, and the lowest on W2 of March 2022 with USD 0.58/KG. Prices decreased 54.7% by the end of Q1-2022. This matches the situation on the market, where lower-quality pears remain. But traders are positive. Every caliber is selling, so all the sizes have good profit margins.

The majority of Belgian pear went to the EU market. The main importing countries for the Belgian pears were France, Great Britain, Netherland, Estonia, and Spain. In this part of the season, usually, it is more difficult to sell Class II of pears. However, lower supply in contrast to the high demand caused price hikes. High demand also enabled for selling of all sizes and classes of pears. Belgian pear exports are not immune to the closure of the border with Belarus and the Russian-Ukraine conflict. The border closure and the transport strikes in both Italy and Spain caused prices to jump.

China is becoming a more significant destination for Belgian pear exports, import value in MY 2020 was USD 8.8M, a 4.3% YoY increase. Recently, lockdowns to regulation surges in COVID-19 cases have made transporting products almost impossible.

While Belgian exporters are busy with lively market developments, producers are facing weather troubles. On W13-14 of 2022, frost hit Belgium. It happened at the most unfavorable moment for the production of pears - the flowering period. It is estimated that around 30-90% of flowers were damaged. But at this point, it is too soon to give a more precise predicament. Even so, expectations are moderate for the ongoing season.