This year’s pear crop should be slightly bigger than last year, but still average compared to historical production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This 2023 harvest is forecast at 645,000 tons, up from 644,000 tons in 2022, the agency reported in mid-August.

Jim Morris, marketing and communications manager for Pear Bureau Northwest, said the USDA analysis was “pretty accurate, at least until we get some real numbers.”

The fresh pear industry, represented by Pear Bureau Northwest, will release its forecast in the coming weeks.

“It’s not a bumper crop by any means, but it’s a stronger crop than last year,” Morris said.

B.J. Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission and manager of the federal Processed Pear Committee, said the crop size looks good but there are a few smaller pears in orchards.

“For the canned pear crop … we’re probably at two-thirds of the way through harvest and things are going well so far,” Thurlby said.

Last year’s harvest of Bartlett pears for canning was 74,000 tons. “As of today, we think we have 80,000 tons out there,” Thurlby said.

According to the USDA report, Washington and Oregon, the two largest pear-producing states, faced difficult growing conditions, starting with cold weather that delayed the bloom.

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That was followed by a warm spell and trees that flowered all at once, disrupting the usual pattern of warmer, lower-elevation orchards blooming first, according to the report.

Warm weather, open blossoms and rain caused concerns regarding fire blight, a disease caused by a bacterial infection, the report stated.

Morris and Thurlby said they hadn’t heard of people worried more than normal about fire blight this season.