Organic Apples & Pears in Good Supply

Both organic apples and pears are in good supply currently, though the source for each are continents apart.  Washington state still has a good supply of organic apples in controlled atmosphere storage while the organic pear crop has transitioned from the Pacific Northwest to Argentina.

Brianna Shales, senior marketing manager at Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, WA, told OPN Connect that while supplies of some organic apple varieties are winding down “we will have availability and promotional opportunities well into the summer on Fujis, Galas and Grannys.”

Brianna Shales, senior marketing manager, Stemilt Growers

She added that there will also be some Pink Ladys, and Stemilt will be marketing its proprietary Pinata variety, with organic availability all summer.  Much of the summer production will come from Argentina where Stemilt has licensed growers to produce the crop in the Patagonia region of that South American country.

Shales said Washington producers have improved their storage techniques for organic apples, which has allowed some of the varieties to be marketed 52 weeks of the year, just like their conventional counterparts.  She said the organic apples are held in a very low oxygen environment, which has extended their storage life significantly over the last few years.

She added that Stemilt is very committed to its organic production and to making sure that organic apples arrive in the marketplace with the same high level of quality and freshness that consumers expect from any apple that they buy.

While organic storage apples will take consumers into the summer, Shales said in August Stemilt will begin offering new crop organic apples, with Sweet Tango being the first variety on the sales sheet.

Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager, Domex Superfresh Growers

Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima, WA, concurred with Shale's assessment that there will be organic apples from Washington available through the summer.  “Organic Fuji, Red Delicious, and Gala apples will be available well into summer,” she said, adding that the company’s supply of organic Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Granny Smiths will run out in early May.

Gipe-Stewart revealed that this year organic apple sales have become increasingly important to the overall category.  For the 53 weeks ending February 22, she reported organic apples sales were up 4.7 percent in a category that was down 5 percent.  She added that organic apples account for more than 11 percent of the overall apple category and in February 2020, they represented nearly 13 percent of total apple dollar sales, according to Nielsen scan data.

As the domestic organic pear crop closes out its 2019/20 season, Gipe-Stewart noted that the sector also outperformed the category for the past year. “For the 53 weeks ending Feb. 22, organic pear sales were up +5.2 percent in a category that was overall down -1.0 percent.”

As previously noted, organic pear supplies available to U.S. retailers have transitioned from domestic sources to Argentina.  Sydney Fairchild, marketing director for Bridges Organic Produce, Portland, OR, told OPN Connect that her company began using Argentina organic pears more than a month ago and sold its last load of domestic organic pears two weeks ago. 

“There are still a few U.S. pears around but not too many.  We have been shipping organic pears to the East Coast (from Argentina) since late February,” Fairchild said.

Sydney Fairchild, marketing director, Bridges Organic Produce

There is good demand and supply from Argentina as that country ramps up its production as it moves into different varieties, she said, noting organic Bartletts and D’Anjous from Argentina are currently carrying the load with the Autumn Bartletts beginning later this month.

David Posner of Awe Sum Organics, Santa Cruz, CA, has been importing organic pears from Argentina for more than 20 years.  He said his longtime Argentinian grower has an excellent crop and there are promotable volumes. 

He noted that Awe Sum’s first pears from South America this year were marketed in the United States at the beginning of March and supplies will last into July with Autumn Bartletts being the last pear available.  Awe Sum is handling a full range of varieties including Bartletts, Red Bartletts, Abate Fettel, D’Anjou, Beurre Bosc, Golden Bosc, Forelle and the Autumn Bartlett.