Atop that mix is an emerging global market place, which finds Southern Hemisphere growers selling pears from their increasing acreage into traditional U.S. and European markets. It used to be, says Herb Diede, president and chief executive officer of the Pear Bureau Northwest, the industry's marketing organization, that when there was a big crop growers could count on exports to absorb the supply. These days when pear marketers make overseas calls, they find aggressive Southern Hemisphere brokers are there, too. It was the second time in this decade that Western pear growers faced the promise of red ink for much of their crop. There are some marketing bright spots this fall, with good returns on popular winter pear varieties.
Exports are up to Mexico and the Middle East.
Exports won't do the job. There can be swings in yield of 25 percent from year to year, and it takes a larger share of the domestic fresh fruit market to absorb supply fluctuations of that magnitude. The answer won't lie in the acreage alone because one of the decisions of the 1990s for those who remained in business is to be efficient, going for greater yield of higher-grading fruit. The potential for market expansion in Wenatchee and the Yakima Valley is on the minds of many in the industry. After years of watching production costs mount on selected Medford orchards that turned out lower grade fruit, Naumes pulled the plug in the name of efficiency.