Late season pear volumes are dropping faster than normal, which may have helped keep prices stable during the pandemic.
Volume Graph Chart Total Pears 2020 vs 2019 January through April 30th
When we look at the combined market volume so far in 2020 it is evident that the steep decline began in the month of February, said Raúl López, an agronomist at Agtools.
Blue Book has teamed with Agtools Inc., the data analytic service for the produce industry, to look at a handful of crops and how they’re adjusting in the market during the pandemic.
With the exception of a one week increase the second week of April, the trend line for Pears is downward sloping, he said. The pandemic has stunned the Pear volume in 2020 when compared to the 2019 volume.
Bartlett Variety Pear 4/5 bushel wrapped 3-year Shipping point High Prices 2018-2020
For 2020, prices have remained constant at $35, Lopez said, but the pandemic has disrupted price reporting after March. Shipping point prices of Bartlett Pears in 2018 were in the mid $20s and increased to the $30s in the middle of February. The year 2019 had the highest prices, from the low $30s to the high $30s.
Retail Price Bartlett Variety Pear North East Region per lb. January-April 30th 2020
In 2020, between January 1st and April 30th, High and Low prices in the Northeast U.S for conventional Bartlett variety Pears per pound have fluctuated between a high of $2 and a low off just below $1, Lopez said. This trend is expected to continue in the following weeks and as new data comes in we will be able to confirm if the price range for Pears holds inside the range.
VOLUME PEARS JANUARY-APRIL 30TH 2020
Pears in 2020 are mostly from Washington – 45%, Oregon – 39% and Argentina – 8%, which combined are providing over 93% of the volume, Lopez said. All producing regions have experienced lower volume than 2019, as noted in the Description column of the table above. The decrease of Pears during the first four months of 2020 is significant.
