In Brazil, the production of quality pears on a commercial scale is
small and commercial orchards are located in the Southern states.
During the 2001 to 2005 period, the average domestic production was
18,800 tons [3]. The state of Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer,
accounting for 47% of the domestic production in 2006. The growing
of low quality cultivars has favored imports of fresh pear mainly from
Chile and Argentina. To increase per capita consumption by 0.5 kg
yr-1, the country must produce fruit of similar quality to the imported
pear [4