Europe’s producers of pears are leaving crops to rot because of retaliation by Russia, the biggest buyer of European pears, against sanctions.
Many growers say it is cheaper not to harvest any but the most perfect fruit in a year when, according to Mintec, the commodities research and data group, overall production in Europe is estimated at 2.27m tonnes, down 2 per cent year-on-year from high output levels of 2013.
Russia banned a list of food imports from the EU, the US and other countries supporting sanctions against it over its Ukraine incursions. Brussels farm lobby group Copa-Cogeca said the restrictions had pushed prices down for everything from Spanish peaches to Latvian cabbages and Finnish dairy products.
Some €82m of EU support measures for fruit and vegetable producers from a total of €125m will be allocated to apple and pear producers.
In the UK, conference pear prices fell in November by 30 per cent year-on-year due to increased seasonal supply, the crop benefiting from warm autumn conditions which have increased the yield and quality for most European producing countries, including the UK and Belgium.
EU exports to countries outside its 28 nations were worth €313.2m last year, Russia accounting for more than half this at €179.3m. Leading EU suppliers to Russia were Belgium, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
Argentina was the world’s largest supplier by value in 2011, followed by the Netherlands, China and Belgium, say the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.