Despite heavy regulations affecting imports into Israel, some American exporters are finding the market ripe for North Pacific pears. “We have varieties and quality they can’t get from other supplying countries,” says Ron Cohn of Stanley Orchards Sales, Inc.
Cohn’s New York based company, which specializes in apples, pears, and other orchard fruit, is now shipping its pears primarily to Israel, where low supply and quality levels have created a vacuum.
Cohn says his company ships Bosc, Anjou, and Red Anjou pears to the region, but must meet strict conditions in order to make shipments into Israel. Israeli import regulations require pears to be grown in designated pest-free areas. In areas that don’t meet Israel’s pest-free requirements, pears must be cold-treated for a period of 42 days, with cold-treatment conditions monitored by the USDA.
For Stanley Orchards, which sources from Washington and Oregon, this has meant a waiting game for Oregon product. While many of Washington’s growing regions are designated pest-free, Oregon’s orchards are not. “It’s probably another few weeks for Oregon,” Cohn says, explaining that this year’s crop was picked recently and remains in cold-treatment.
While Cohn concedes that “there may be a premium” price to his exports, he also notes that local Israeli supplies have fallen short. With other countries, notably Spain, providing weaker quality pears, the market is strong for American product – so long as it meets import regulations.
Says Cohn, “It should be a healthy market.”
