Pear Season in Argentina Is Drawing to A Close

Sweet, juicy pears are constantly in demand. Throughout the beginning of the year, supplies of organic pears in particular were largely sourced from Argentina.But during the warmer months, packers will transition to rely on California growers to meet consumer demands.

The Perfect Pear

Argentina may not be the first place that comes to mind for growing pears, but over the past 15 years, the Patagonia region has developed a thriving economy of organic pear and apple orchards.The area surrounding the Rio Negro in particular boasts several family owned farms that have been able to take their sustainable produce to the world stage.While the quality of pears from these farms is impeccable, the quantity isn't quite enough to meet the market demand year-round.Luckily, California growers are able to step up right at the time when supplies from South America are starting to taper. By sourcing from both Argentina and the US, suppliers are able to keep a constant flow of fruit available for hungry customers.

Pre-pearing for Success

While harvests were up this year, Argentine growers are looking to improve event more. Most are setting their sights far beyond simply filling the gap between supplies from the Pacific Northwest and California.Year-round programs of high quality, organic pears are the goal, and companies are already eyeing the path to get there.

Banking on Bartletts

Moving from a limited season to being a contender for year-round programs takes dedicated workers on the farming and supply chain sides of things. But it also requires new varieties of pears, with growing seasons that overlap to cover the entire year.Green Anjous and Williams Bartletts might be the more familiar varieties of the fruit, but Autumn and Winter Bartletts are critical to support supply in the cooler months.Determined to explore even more exotic offerings, the University of Bologna and Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti have teamed up to create new varieties of pears.These experimental varieties include Lucy Sweet®, Early Giulia®, Debby Green®, and Lucy Red®.While they're only available on test trees at the moment, there's certainly a chance they'll make their way to Argentine orchards in the near future!Until then, savor the last sweet offerings from South America and California with this scrumptious summer snack.