PRODUCTION AND TRENDS OF MAJOR PEAR CULTIVARS IN THE WESTERN STATES OF CALIFORNIA, OREGON AND WASHINGTON

The U.S. Pacific Coast region produces 750,000 tonnes annually of the 800,000 tonnes of pears produced in the U.S. or about 14 percent of worldwide production. ‘Bartlett’ tonage is about 73 percent of the Pacific Coast pear production while ‘Anjou’ amounts to about 19 percent, ‘Bosc’ about 4 percent and ‘Comice’ 0.6 percent of the total production.
Production of the 4 cultivars have increased during the past 12 years with the principal increase of ‘Bartletts’ from Washington, the increase of ‘Anjou’ from Washington and northern Oregon, the increases of ‘Bosc’ and ‘Comice’ from southern Oregon.
Consumption of ‘Anjous’ in the U.S. has increased considerably since 1968 but also ‘Bosc’ and ‘Comice’ consumption has increased in the last 4 years.
Price per box of fresh ‘Bartletts’, ‘Anjou’, and ‘Bosc’ has increased sharply in current dollars since 1968 but decreased in deflated dollars of 1967. The relationship of price per box in 1967 dollars with U.S. utilization of ‘Bartletts’ and ‘Anjou’ (a demand curve) indicated a decrease of 15 cents per box with an increase utilization of a box per 1000 population.
The demand curve for ‘Bosc’ pears has decreased 6 times as much or about 90 cents per box for each box of increased utilization per 1000 population.

III International Symposium on Pear Growing

J. Klahre

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1982.124.23