Apple and pear producers in Belgium are keeping an eye on the weather forecast as much of Europe bakes in its second heatwave of the year, but the reliability of the shipping lines remains the chief concern for exporters
A year and a half since the launch of a co-branded Smurfs-Truval Conference pear at the CIIE Exhibition in Shanghai, Truval and Dole appear intent on expanding the partnership. The blue television characters, created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Peyo, helped promote the Belgian Conference in China last season, as the campaign was extended to Tier 3-5 cities across the country.
Dole first introduced the Truval Conference pear to the Chinese market in January 2011, and has grown into the largest importer and distributor of Belgian Conference pears, handling around 90 per cent of imports.
“It has had a really good appeal in China,” Marc Evrard, commercial director at Belgian Fruit Valley (BFV), says of the Smurfs tie-in. “We’ve had some interest from importers in other countries as well, including Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, but there are some practicalities that need to be respected to do with licensing rights and fees, and of course that costs money. If we could make a global agreement with the company that owns the legal rights to the Smurfs, then that might be more feasible.”
Having gained access to Vietnam just before the Covid pandemic, BFV and cooperative partner BelOrta have been preparing for a relaunch on the market, while Thailand opened its doors to Belgian Conference pears two years ago.
“We are interested in expanding the Smurfs campaign to Thailand and Vietnam,” confirms Laurent De Smedt, manager of the pomefruit division at BelOrta. “We are also looking to introduce the blushed Fred pear to Asia.”
As in the neighbouring Netherlands, the pear crop in Belgium is expected to be more abundant than last season. ”I think it’s going to be 7-10 per cent bigger, based on the number of fruits hanging on the trees,” reveals Evrard. “The actual abundance will depend on the size of the fruit as well. If we have enough rain over the coming weeks, then the fruits will grow in size. If not, then that’s a different matter altogether.”
With much of Europe already experiencing its second heatwave of the year, all eyes are on the weather forecast. “For the moment, there are no real issues,” says Evrard. “If the trees are unprotected by the leaves, there might be some additional chance of having some sunburn on the fruits. This is a bigger problem for apples. For pears, there is no issue whatsoever.”
Not only are the pears protected by shade in the orchards, they currently have ample water, according to Evrard. “There was more than enough water in the soil before the summer started,” he reports. “Now we have regular rain intervals. On the other hand, with a few weeks still to go before the actual harvest, it’s too early to make any reliable forecasts. Our biggest fear is still probably the possibility of having a late hail storm that might damage the fruit.”
This season, Evrard sees a good opportunity to continue the Conference pear’s development on export markets like Brazil, Mexico and Canada. “In Brazil, much depends on the climate,” he reveals. “If they have a cool winter, pears are much more appealing to consumers. But they can have very warm weather in the winter and that’s a challenge. A lot will also depend on the market situation, including what volumes are coming from Argentina and Portugal.”
Of course, logistical issues may have hit a new apogee since the Gulf descended further into chaos, but they are certainly nothing new to Belgian exporters.
“For the past three years, Belgian pears have been forced to go round the Cape to Good Hope to reach markets in East Asia,” notes Evrard. “What is a much bigger challenge is the complete unreliability of the shipping lines. It makes it increasingly difficult to plan accurate programmes with retailers worldwide, because in a snap of the fingers they can decide to declare the end of a vessel’s voyage and immediately offload the containers, or omit a port altogether. At the end of the day, this is bad news for consumers worldwide, as well as for service providers, retailers and the shipping lines as well.”
The Belgian apple crop is expected to be lower than last year’s record harvest, but close to the average volume. “Regarding quality, we did have some hail damage throughout the season,” says De Smedt. “For Conference pears it’s not such a big problem because it grows out, but for apples we will have more volume that goes directly to industry. Therefore I expect a market that should be more in balance for apples next year.”
