Subject: Re: Asian Pears, is there a market?

From: [email-masked] (Allyn Weaks)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 23:53:40 -0800

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Robert  Inget)
wrote:

> Eight years ago I planted, on wire, no less five acres of Asian pears, (nashi)
> I fear it is the Emu of the fruit world. Lucky for me I lost the entire crop 
> to a late frost.. So. Oregon.. 2,500 feet. So this year I do not have to try 
> to flog them a box at a time to my local stores.. 
> Does anyone know of a market on the west coast, not California?

Heck, I love the things, and so does everyone I know, but the best price
I've seen in Seattle stores this year is about $3.00/lb, which is more
than I or most of my friends can afford for fruit (disclaimer: I haven't
gone on a protracted hunt for them); I'm going to have to plant my own
tree to supply my addiction.  It could be that the high price is due to a
bad year, but even over the last several years since I found out about
them, they've always been priced as exotics, never less than $2/lb as far
as I know.  It suprises me that you can't find a market, unless the store
prices are just too high for most people to even try them, misleading
stores into thinking that they aren't liked.  I've also noticed that they
usually aren't very well displayed (no variety name given, often hidden in
a corner), which is silly.
-- 
Allyn Weaks  [email-masked]
PNW Native Wildlife Gardening:  http://chemwww.chem.washington.edu/natives/
Any advertisements sent to any of my email accounts will be billed $25 per
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From: [email-masked] (Robert Inget)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 21:34:34

Blue Berry Bob

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From: [email-masked] (Paul A Stephenson)
Date: 27 Aug 1996 17:32:18 +1000

>Heck, I love the things, and so does everyone I know, but the best price
I've seen in Seattle stores this year is about $3.00/lb.......

I am in Australia,

I planted about 450 nashi's 9 years ago (future big cash crop), unfortunately
we are too tropical for them to bear fruit. The trees have been recently
removed. Big waste of time and money for me, I hope somebody has made money from
them.

Paul Stephenson QLD Australia.

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From: [email-masked] (DGholston)
Date: 27 Aug 1996 12:08:05 -0400

>I fear it is the Emu of the fruit world. Lucky for me I lost >the entire
crop to a late frost.. So. Oregon.. 2,500 feet. So >this year I do not
have to try to flog them a box at a time >to my local stores.. Does anyone
know of a market on the >west coast, not California?
>Blue Berry Bob

The best markets in California for Asian pears are ethnic outlets of
various sorts. They do quite well here. Southern Oregon may be a lost
cause--the Portland area might be your best bet. 

Don Gholston
California Rare Fruit Growers

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From: [email-masked] (Nadia Diakun-Thibault)
Date: 28 Aug 1996 19:09:11 GMT

Canadian cities like Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia;
Montreal, Quebec have sizeable Asian communities. The markets there carry
Asian pears. 

Ottawa, Ontario (Canada's capital) has a smaller Asian community, and the
Chinese grocers carry them as well.

--
Nadia Diakun-Thibault                     __o        "To live is so startling
[email-masked]                  '\<,           it leaves little time
Oxford Mills, Ontario                  (*)/'(*)           for anything else."
Canada    ........................................ Emily Dickinson (1830-1866)