Northwest, California and national pear production were predicted to plummet this season, according to recently released USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reports.

The West Coast’s apple crop and Washington and California’s grape harvest also were expected to decline, while Oregon’s cranberry crop was forecast to increase slightly.

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Pears

Washington pear production is expected to drop to 185,000 tons, down 31% from 2023.

“The Wenatchee district is forecast to be lower this year, and that is due to a few years of some cold snaps, and the older trees that are in many of those blocks don’t recover as fast as they used to,” said Jim Morris, marketing and communications manager for Pear Bureau Northwest.

Oregon pear production is forecast at 200,000 tons, down 15% from the previous season.

“We know the Hood River area is going to be a little bit lower, but not as much as Washington, and it’s hard to know what the number will be right at this point,” Morris said.

The Medford area, a minor player in the industry now, will probably hold steady, he added.

Oregon is expected to be the nation’s top producer this season and account for more than 38% of the nation’s pear harvest.

California’s pear crop is expected to drop 17% to 135,000 tons.

The national harvest is anticipated to decline 22% to 520,000 tons.

Northwest Pear Bureau typically waits until mid-September to make its own production prediction.

Apples

Washington’s apple crop is anticipated to hit 7.5 billion pounds, down 1% from the previous season.

The nation’s leading apple producer is expected to account for 68% of the U.S. crop this season.

Oregon apple production is forecast at 150 million pounds, down 5% from 2023.

California’s apple crop is expected to drop 4.2% to 230 million pounds.

National production is expected to dip 2.2% to 11.1 billion pounds.

Grapes

Washington’s overall grape production is forecast at 305,000 tons, down 10% from the previous year.

The Evergreen State is the second largest grape producer in the U.S. at 5% of national production.

Washington’s wine grape crop is expected to hit 155,000 tons, down 3%, while the table grape harvest is anticipated to drop to 150,000, 17% lower than 2023.

Oregon’s total grape production is forecast at 95,000 tons.

California’s overall grape crop is expected to increase 4.1% to 5.8 million tons based on table grapes and raisins. Wine grapes are expected to dip to 3.6 million tons, down 2.4% from 2023.

The U.S. grape harvest is predicted to climb 7.7% to 6.37 million tons.

Cranberries

Oregon cranberry production was forecast at 560,000 barrels, up 2% from 2023.

Oregon ranks fourth in the nation for cranberry production and is expected to account for about 7% of the crop this season.

Nationally, the harvest is expected to increase 1.6% to 8.24 million barrels.