—by Jim Morris, Pear Bureau Northwest

As pear harvest begins across the Northwest, new leadership at Pear Bureau Northwest is stepping up to serve the industry.

The board of directors appointed CarrieAnn Arias as president and CEO, and she took over the responsibilities of the role on July 1, following the departure of Kevin Moffitt, who held the position since 2001.

A 20-year agriculture industry veteran, Arias has served as vice president of marketing at Naturipe Farms and vice president of marketing at Dole Food Co. She is also the founder of TableSpark, a business and technology consulting firm. In 2022, Arias was chairman of the board of Produce for Better Health (now part of the International Fresh Produce Association), and she helped to grow the organization’s Have a Plant movement that advanced the industry’s collective commitment to overall fruit and vegetable consumption.

Arias brings a true passion for agriculture and for connecting consumers to their food.

“Naturipe Farms is a farmer-owned organization and the largest grower of blueberries globally. I really found my stride and a passion working directly for the 450-plus growers there,” she said.

She was especially compelled to pursue the opportunity to join PBNW as a way to work closely with the growers. “This is the perfect time to bring my experience together for a single industry while also getting to work closely with the dedicated people who produce our food,” she said.

Fueling her passion, Arias is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration while continuing to build on the organization’s strong foundation and drive its mission of promoting pears in the U.S. and around the world.

“I would like to create a stronger connection to the farm and guide consumers through the information clutter out there. Today’s consumers truly want to understand where our food comes from, and I want to take it a step further and humanize its origins,” she said. “We must make the connection that food sustainability starts with financial viability at the farm. Our domestic food supply must be secured, and it starts with recognizing that farmers and their families’ ability to grow our delicious and nutritious food is dependent on the prices that are in the grocery store.”

With Arias’ arrival, the duties of manager of the Fresh Pear Committee of Federal Marketing Order 927 have transferred to Jeff Correa, also the PBNW’s international marketing director.

Previously a role also held by Moffitt, the manager of the Fresh Pear Committee plays a pivotal role administering the regulations, grower assessments for research and promotions, and the collection and dissemination of pear inventory figures throughout the season. Correa will also manage ongoing communication with the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the regional office in Portland, Oregon, as well as in Washington, D.C.

In July, Correa attended the United States Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) conference in D.C., where he also met staff from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). An early order of business will be to work with AMS on the 2024 crop to determine the needs for any potential school lunch program purchases.

“I am excited to be able to serve the industry in a new capacity as the manager of the Fresh Pear Committee as well as continuing my work as the international marketing director for the pear bureau,” Correa said.

“Looking ahead to this year’s crop, our growers are facing headwinds that have not been experienced in decades,” he said. “We are going to have to be extremely dedicated to defending our shelf space and cementing our relationships with both retailers and consumers in the coming season.”

On the export side, much will depend on the ultimate size of this season’s crop, as far as what the manifest will look like in terms of sizes and grades and where those opportunities will be for the export markets.

“I expect Mexico, Canada and Central America will remain the focus of the export program for the industry, with some limited opportunities for offshore exports for Red Anjou pears,” Correa said. “PBNW’s strategy will be to focus its marketing efforts on the above-mentioned top-three export markets and maintain a small presence in the other USA Pear export markets with our in-country marketing representatives who will be at the ready to promote when and if export volumes arrive into the markets.” •

Jim Morris is the communications manager for Pear Bureau Northwest, which collectively markets pears under the USA Pears brand. Email him at: jmorris@usapears.com.