Pear sales in Belgium doubled since Russian boycott

Belgians have responded en masse to the call to buy more Belgian products, such as pork and pears, after they were included in Russia’s food import ban last week. Since then pear sales have doubled, reports the Limburg Fruitveiling in Het Belang van Limburg and Gazet van Antwerpen.

"Last week people started posting ‘peerfies’ (photos of themselves eating a pear) on Twitter to show their support for Belgian fruit producers, and it has had a positive effect," says Petra Wautraets, commercial director of the Limburg Fruitveiling. "Never have more pears been sold in such a short amount of time. All of the major warehouses and retailers have seen their purchase orders more than double."

The supermarkets confirm the reaction. "People want to buy Belgian products; you hear it from the customers and see it in what they buy,” says Jean-Jacques Schols of Carrefour Market in Sint-Truiden.