Belarus restores pear imports from Poland

From 27 April this year Belarus has restored the possibility of supplying some EU fruits and vegetables since 27 April this year. As far as fruits are concerned, besides apples, pears are on the list. Technically, as a reminder, at selected points (list here) shipments from the EU are transshipped to Belarusian transport.

The opening of the Belarusian border to EU pears at the end of April will not undo the damage caused by the embargo, but it will certainly stimulate trade and improve sales, which in the large pear-producing countries have clearly declined after entry to Belarus was blocked.

For the Polish pear sector this is "mustard after dinner". According to WAPA's data, as early as the 1st of April our pear stocks were only 1,000 tonnes, so the Polish pear season is now practically closed. The situation is slightly different throughout the EU. Stocks on 1 April were 206.2 thousand tonnes - quite a lot, although not a record, as the graph below shows. So the reopening of the Belarusian market will certainly be useful.

As for prices of pears on the Polish wholesale market, they remain higher this season than last year. This is a consequence of a weaker harvest of this fruit in our country. Currently, the price of the domestic Conference is in the range of 4.00-4.50 PLN per kg, 29 percent more expensive year-on-year. Prices of the Conference imported from Western Europe are 4.80-6.50 PLN/kg, 33 percent more expensive than in the same period last year.

Polish stocks, as mentioned above, are basically exhausted. In this situation, we should expect a consistent increase in the price of imported pears, as was the case a year ago. Then, in August 2021, the average price in the large wholesalers reached 7.00 PLN per kilo, and now it may be more expensive.