Northwest pear growers announce 2017 fresh market volume estimate

Green Anjou pear. Photo courtesy of Pear Bureau Northwest

Northwest pear growers anticipate harvesting about the same volume of fresh market pears as last year, but organic production is expected to skyrocket.

Growers in Washington and Oregon estimate they will harvest 18 million 44-pound boxes of pears for the fresh market this season, according to the Pear Bureau Northwest’s August crop estimate.

If the number holds, it will roughly fall in line with the 2016-2017 pear season but fall about 9 percent below the five-year average, according to the Portland, Oregon-based Pear Bureau, which represents growers from Washington and Oregon.

However, growers and packers expect organic pear production to shoot up to 1.45 million boxes, a 22-percent increase over last season.