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although lately the amount has been somewhat shy
of this target.
A look at South America finds Argentina is the leader
at 550,000 tons a year and that Chile has gone from
more than 200,000 tons early in the new century to
the current 160,000 tons a year.
Competition less heated in Europe
The Old World pear crop has been more or less stationary
at about 2.5 million tons over the last decade.
Italy, the world’s second-leading producer and the first
in Europe at over 860,000 tons, accounts for nearly
35% of Europe’s total pear output. Spain ranks second
at more than 20% of the total, although its share has
been falling and the country’ pear crop has lately been
below 500,000 tons. The shares of the Netherlands
and Belgium are about 9-10%, or more than 300,000
tons and growing, and, by contrast, France’s crop has
now dropped to about an 8% share.
The market survey conducted jointly by CSO and
Bologna University underscore several distinguishing
factors of the pear industry that make it different from
the other fruit sectors.
To begin with, while competition among Europe’s leading
players has a certain edge to it, it is somewhat more
muted in pear than in the other fruit commodities. The
survey data indicate that this is due in part to soil and climate
constraints that limit production of this species to
certain areas, factors that secondarily determine which
cultivars are best adapted to a given area or district.
The survey also shows a growing trend in marketing
strategy as more players pursue specialisation in certain
cultivars and select markets, moves that appear
to be limiting to some extent the effects of competitive
pressures.
This, of course, is not to say that the level of competition
always remains constant. Indeed, as everyone
knows, large volumes of pear are regularly shipped to
the export markets in Europe and elsewhere from the
Southern Hemisphere. In effect, what often acts to shift
the pressure in the marketplace is the rising competition
deriving from continuing investments in plantations that
are mainly taking place in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Italy and France go for top quality
Generally speaking, the poll also detected two basic
business strategies being followed by industry players.
One is the pursuit of cost-cutting measures and is most
evident in Belgium, Holland and Spain. The other is the
pursuit of a crop marked by range of cultivars aimed at
the top segments of the quality scale for markets that
recognise and reward the differences. Italy and France
are the leading exponents of this strategy.
The survey data collected in 2009 also indicate that
the pear industry’s overall economic picture is satisfactory.
A look at the average prices for the 2007/08,
Tra i paesi del Sud America è l’Argentina il leader con
550.000 tonnellate annue, mentre per il Cile si riscontra
una produzione in calo, da oltre 200.000 tonnellate dei
primi anni Duemila alle attuali 160.000 tonnellate.
Competizione meno accesa in Europa
La produzione nel Vecchio Continente si colloca, da
circa un decennio, intorno ai 2.5 milioni di tonnellate.
L’Italia è il secondo produttore mondiale e il primo produttore
europeo di pere, con una media produttiva di
oltre 860.000 tonnellate. Dal nostro paese proviene
circa il 35% della produzione totale europea. La Spagna
produce oltre il 20% del prodotto, ma con quote in calo
e una produzione recentemente al di sotto di 500.000
tonnellate. Percentuali che si aggirano intorno al 9-10%
sono attribuibili all’Olanda e al Belgio, in rafforzamento e
in grado di raggiungere e superare le 300.000 tonnellate.
La produzione francese è scesa sull’8% circa.
Sulla base dell’indagine svolta da CSO in collaborazione
con l’Università di Bologna, appaiono evidenti talune considerazioni
che contraddistinguono il sistema produttivo
del pero e lo differenziano da altri comparti frutticoli.
In primo luogo si rileva, a livello europeo, un confronto
competitivo importante, ma meno acceso rispetto ad
altre referenze frutticole: ciò è in parte dovuto ai vincoli
Fresh Point Magazine n.6 – june/giugno 2010
43