Higher tariff in India takes juice off US pears

Ample demand from China and India for US pears is expected to keep pear growers in America’s Pacific Northwest happy, despite the small crop of 2014, down from the 2013 season’s record. The 2014 Northwest crop was pegged at 20.8 million boxes. In 2013, the crop was 21.6 million boxes.

With the middle class population estimated to increase 160 per cent over the next five years in developing countries such as China and India, demand is set to increase.

“The 2014 pear crop is our second largest crop,” said Jeff Correa, International Marketing Director, The Pear Bureau Northwest, a US marketing organisation.

“Though it is still 800,000 boxes smaller than the record crop established with the 2013 USA Pear crop, pricing has remained strong through this season, due to strong demand in the US market, Canada, Mexico and several other export markets including India and China,” he said.

Speaking to BusinessLine about the market potential in India, Correa said, “We see potential export volume of 250,000 (boxes of 20 kg each) being the goal in the next five years for India.”

Currently, India imposes 30 per cent tariff on imported pears.

Correa added that if the “tariff rate were to decrease substantially, that could possibly open up the market for even more rapid growth, and open the Indian market up for greater size, grade and variety diversification.”

Currently, Mexico is the top export market, followed by Canada.

“Those two markets account for nearly 56 per cent of the total exports. Russia used to be the (US pear) industry’s third largest market, but with the Russian ban on US agricultural exports, Colombia has emerged as the third largest export market. India is the industry’s eighth largest export market,” he added.

Though China produces 75 per cent of the world’s pears, it was the sixth largest export market of Northwest pears last year, at around 184,840 boxes of around 20 kg each. This season, China is set to figure in the top five markets for Pear Bureau Northwest.

However, Correa insists India and China are two distinctly different markets. “Both are growth markets for the industry, but India is the more developed export market, due to the fact that we have been actively promoting in India for over 10 years,” he said.

The International Marketing Director added: “In India, consumers are also familiar with western style pears, so we do not face the same set of education challenges in India as we do in China, where we have to educate the consumer about the taste, flavour and eating experience expectations with a western pear versus an Asian pear.” The latter are the varieties that are most commonly grown in China.

Correa went on to add, “India (also) grows western pears. Consumers are more familiar with the taste and eating expectations, and are more knowledgeable about the ripening requirements of western pears.”

Last year, Pear Bureau Northwest was awarded $40,000 from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and $20,000 from the Washington State Department of Agriculture through the 2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant.

The grant was aimed at enabling the Pear Bureau Northwest to focus on ‘Putting pears on the menu.’

Pear Bureau Northwest promotes fresh USA Pears grown in Washington and Oregon, home to 84 per cent of the US fresh pear crop.

The bureau represents 1,600 growers and develops national and international markets for Northwest pear distribution.

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