While pear volume in the Northwest is much less than apples, one of the important facts is pears mix well with apples in loads. Northwest onion loads are another big item, but few things load well with onions – garlic being an exception. Potatoes are much more compatible for mixing with numerous items in the same trailer.
About 70 percent of Northwest pears remain to be shipped, which is very similar to this time last year. Over 6.5 million boxes of pears have already been loaded this season. Northwest shippers are on track to ship about 22.2 million boxes of pears, which would be the largest on record and 14 percent more than last season. Most pear varieties should be available for hauling through January.
Quality is good this season, with about 88 percent the of fruit grading out at No. 1-quality. The Yakima and Wenachee valleys in Washington state are averaging about 600 truck load equivalents of pear shipments weekly.
By contrast, from the same area in Washington state, about 2,500 truck load equivalents of apples are being loaded each week. It is another huge apple crop to say the least.
Washington’s Columbia Basin and the adjacent Umatilla Basin in Oregon have both potato loads and onion loads in good volume, but the amount does not approach the state’s fruit totals.
Washington apples and pears – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
Columbia Basin potatoes and onions- about $6300 to New York City.