Harvesting of pears in Washington state and Oregon got underway last week and there are light shipments taking place. Volume is increasing on a weekly basis.
California grapes are now in heavy volume.
The region is expected to ship about 19.4 million, 44-pound boxes of pears this season, which would be up about two percent from the 2012-13 crop.
If estimated pear shipments hold true for the season this would be 4 percent higher than the five-year average for loadings.
Pear volume for summer/fall pears from the Pacific Northwest is expected to be 4.7 million boxes, which would be about 5 percent less than 2012 season. Volume for Northwest winter pears is expected to come in at 15 million boxes. The total Northwest winter pear volume is anticipated to be approximately 15 million boxes, up 4 percent from 2012.
California Grape Shipments
After an early and fast start to the California table grape season, the rapid paces is expected to continue well past Labor Day. Shipping volume is running about two weeks earlier than normal.
During the 2012 season, California harvested 100.1 million 19-pound box equivalents of table grapes. Last April the preliminary estimate for this season was 106.9 million boxes.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $7500 to New York City.
Washington pears and apples – grossing about $6500 to New York City.