UK pear growers should aim to triple their yields to make the country more self-sufficient, with new orchards and further research, according to English Apples and Pears Ltd’s chief executive, Adrian Barlow.
The UK public consumes some 130,000 tonnes of fresh pears a year, with an extra 30,000t going into the processing and juicing industries - but only 20,000t of this quota comes from domestic production.
Barlow told the East Malling Research Association’s (EMRA) ‘Pear growing for the future’ conference last week: “The government wants a 20-25 per cent increase in horticultural output, but how good an opportunity is this in relation to pears?
“In terms of supply to the UK market, we produce less than 20 per cent than we eat and we couldn’t get to full self-sufficiency during the summer months, but it is reasonable to say that we can increase our production to triple the volume for eight months of the year.
“Our output is half, at best, of that in either Belgium or the Netherlands and we consume fewer than half of the EU15 average pear consumption. In the long term, we have huge potential to increase production in the UK. But are our existing orchards profitable? There is a decent level of production from old orchards, but we need low-input/high-output orchards that will bring value to the industry. Then, when there is more profit, more production will follow.”
Barlow told delegates to look at how they manage their pear orchards and reduce the cost per unit with further technology and advice coming through from the EMRA and mainland Europe. “Yes, we can reach that 25 per cent extra, but more so we can make sure our industry achieve greater sustainability,” he added. “We don’t need to increase the size of the market - arguably, if we increase promotions we are subsidising additional sales of imports.”
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