NEW ZEALAND

Feedback from the Trade on Their Plans and Interest in the USA Pear Season:

There has been good support for USA Pears this season amidst lingering competition from NZ Pears. NZ Angelys pears have remained plentiful in the market - which has never been seen before. There has been reduced volumes of Australian Packhams seen in December. All North Island retailers have stocked USA Pears this season. The Fruit World USA Pears promotion - which ran for 1 month - was a big success, with an estimated 109 additional cartons sold.

Expectations for Any Freight or Logistics Challenges:

None reported.

Opportunities in Your Market for Specific Varieties, Sizes, and Grades:

Across importers, New Zealand has imported the following USA Pears this season: Green Anjou, Red Anjou, Bosc and Organic Bosc.

Update on the Competition in the Market:

NZ Angelys provided an uncommon competitive threat this season as normally this variety is gone from the market by the end of November. For it to still be readily available in all retail channels across both islands indicate there may have been issues with their export season. There has been a reduced volume of Australian Packham, possibly as a result of NZ Angelys volume.

Political or Economic Issues Impacting Imports, Retail, or Consumer Behavior:

None

Other Brief Comments:

Considering the NZ Angelys competition, it is great to see many more cartons of USA Pears were imported into NZ this season. There is no doubt the USA Pears supported Fruit World month long promotion in December, helped support increased import volume.