This year's fruit harvest in Navarra will be shorter and the fruits, including pears, will have smaller sizes because of the intense heat there's been. The heat, however, has not affected the quality of the product, stressed the UAGN (Union of Farmers and Livestock of Navarra) and EHNE (Euskal Herriko Nekazarien Elkartasuna).

The drop in the volume harvested will vary between different fruits. The secretary of UAGN, Luis Miguel Serrano, calculates that pear production can fall by up to 25%. Meanwhile, Alberto Benito, a member of EHNE, said pear production could fall by 30% and in some farms by up to 40%. If the production falls by 25% to 30%, the decrease could range between 3.8 and 4.5 million kilos. It's worth noting that Navarra harvested 15.1 million kilos of pears in 2021, according to data from the Department of Rural Development and the Environment.

Logic suggests that if there is less supply and demand doesn't change compared to other years, prices paid to producers and prices paid by consumers will increase. However, that is not necessarily the case, Serrano and Benito agree. So far, pear prices this season are still unknown. "There may be an increase in pear prices at the stores, but that does not mean that farmers will be paid more for their harvest," Alberto Benito stated.

Benito highlighted the importance of complying with the Food Chain Law so that the first link, in this case, the professionals of the field, are paid the right price for their products. "In addition, in 2022 production costs have skyrocketed," Serrano stated.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com