Belgian pear growers are facing growing climate pressures, but worsening conditions further south could strengthen the country’s position in the European pear market.
Belgium’s pear sector is increasingly finding itself on the favourable side of a changing European climate, with growers benefiting from conditions that are becoming more challenging for producers further south.
That is the message emerging from Belgium’s pear industry as growers contend with hotter, drier summers while also watching the longer-term impact of warmer winters on fruit production.
The issue is particularly important for pear growers because winter temperatures play a critical role in orchard performance. Pear trees require sufficient periods of cold during dormancy to complete the physiological processes needed for reliable spring growth and flowering.
According to Laurent De Smedt of Belgian cooperative BelOrta, warmer winters could increasingly interfere with this process, creating additional production challenges in southern European growing regions.
At the same time, Belgium is also dealing with the effects of increasingly dry and hot summers.
Climate is reshaping Europe’s pear map
Belgium’s relative advantage comes from its position further north, where climate conditions remain more suitable for pear production than in some southern European regions.
The development is significant for the wider European market. Earlier industry forecasts showed Belgian pear production falling by around 7% in 2026, to approximately 363,875 tonnes, while production across several major southern European countries was also expected to decline.
The European pear crop as a whole is forecast to increase in 2026, but production remains highly uneven between countries and regions.
This year’s weather has highlighted just how exposed European orchards have become to increasingly unpredictable conditions, with heat, drought, frost, hail and heavy rainfall affecting production across the continent.
For growers, the challenge is no longer simply producing sufficient fruit. Maintaining reliable yields and quality is becoming increasingly dependent on access to water, suitable varieties, orchard management and the ability of trees to cope with changing seasonal conditions.
Conference remains central to Belgian production
Belgium’s position in the European pear market is closely linked to the Conference variety.
Conference is the dominant pear variety across Belgium and the Netherlands and accounts for around 70% of pear-growing area in those two countries. It is also widely grown in the UK, France, Italy and Spain.
BelOrta describes Conference as Belgium’s favourite pear, with the variety valued for its flavour and storage potential. The current commercial season runs from September through to June, giving growers and retailers a long marketing window.
However, maintaining that position will require growers to continue adapting.
Water management is becoming increasingly important, while changes in pest pressure and restrictions on crop protection products are adding another layer of complexity to orchard production.
The European pear sector has already identified water availability, labour, crop protection and climate adaptation as some of its major long-term challenges.
Northern Europe could gain importance
The changing climate could ultimately influence where commercial pear production is concentrated across Europe.
Southern growers are increasingly exposed to extreme heat and drought, while warmer winters can create problems with the winter chilling required by perennial fruit crops.
Northern European producers are not immune from climate change, however. Belgium’s growers have also experienced damaging weather, including hailstorms that affected orchards earlier this year.
BelOrta has recently launched a consumer campaign for pears affected by hail damage, selling them under the VamPeren name to highlight that cosmetic damage does not affect their eating quality.
The initiative illustrates another challenge facing growers: even when crops survive extreme weather, damage can reduce their commercial value.
For Belgian pear producers, the opportunity may therefore be less about avoiding climate change and more about adapting faster than competing production regions.
As temperatures continue to rise across Europe, the geography of commercial fruit production could gradually change with it.
For the Belgian pear industry, that could make northern Europe an increasingly important source of European pears in the years ahead.
Sources: AREFLH/Interpera, WAPA’s 2026 European apple and pear forecast, BelOrta and the Dutch Fruit Growers Organisation.
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