Page 8 — Agriculture 2013, The Chronicle, Omak, Wash.
Washington Growers Clearing House Dee Camp/The Chronicle The Chronicle
Pears ripen on the branch in the late-summer sun.
Pears from 7
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Pears did not suffer from freezes, and hail in July did not seem to affect the final pear quality, Kelly said. As of Jan. 12, the average price for a 44-pound box of pears was $23.47 for 2012 pears. That compares to $19.70 per box at the same time in 2012 (2011 crop) and $20.85 per box in 2011 (2010 crop). Pears will be shipped for about 12 months after harvest, compared to about 13 months for apples. Pears benefited this year by a lack of a freeze for this region which, along with Oregon and California, produced about 90 percent of the country’s pears. The highest price per box was for Asian pears ($55.63), which look like an apple but taste like a tart pear.
Those Top 3 pears (Bartlett, D’Anjou, Bosc) probably make up 90 percent of the crop.
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Dan Kelly, Washington Growers Clearing House
” Shipments as of Jan. 12 for the most-grown varieties include
The chart shows a comparison of per-box f.o.b. prices for selected varieties of pears, as of Jan. 12 in three successive years. Bartlett pears (1,330 cars), which differ from red Bartletts, and D’Anjou (1,275 cars). Bartletts were bringing $23.82 per box as of Jan. 12, compared to $19.50 at this time last year and $19.56 in 2011. D’Anjous were bringing $23.46 this year, compared to $19.05 last year and $20.99 two years ago. Bosc is the third-most-grown pear, with 410 cars shipped. Prices were $23.11 this year, $18.78 last year and $21.63 two years ago Bosc supplies are a bit tighter this year for Domex, said Howard Nager, vice president of marketing at Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima. “Those Top 3 pears probably make up 90 percent of the crop,” Kelly said. Most of the pears are grown in the Wenatchee River valley between Wenatchee and
Leavenworth. Washington grows the majority of the region’s pears,
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