California cherry crop prospects bright
Shippers say California cherry crop prospects are bright for 2021 and no gap is expected between California and Northwest crops at the end of the deal.
“Bloom is just wrapping up (on April 1) and has been average to better than past years,” said Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers, Wenatchee, Wash. The 2020 California cherry crop was up from 2019, but still considered a small crop, Shales said. “While it’s too early for crop size projections, there is potential for (the 2021 crop) to be significantly more than 2020,” Shales said.
The California cherry crop is looking good, said Jon Bailey, cherry category manager for The Oppenheimer Group, Vancouver, British Columbia. “We are optimistic about the upcoming crop after the major rains of last year,” Bailey said.
One unofficial industry estimate for 2021 for California cherries is about 9 million 18-pound boxes, he said.
Rivermaid is optimistic about 2021 California cherries, said Kyle Persky, sales manager for Rivermaid Trading Co., Lodi, Calif.
It was too soon in early April to put any definite projections on volume, said Rich Sambado, president of Primavera Marketing, Linden, Calif. “We have a good feel for potential timing due to obviously knowing our peak bloom dates,” Sambado said. A best guess as of early April, he said, is that with limited negative weather during the harvest, the industry should harvest from 7 million to 8 million cartons. That would be above the 10-year average of about 6.5 million cartons and a little below the all-time high of 9.6 million cartons in 2017, Sambado said.
Harvest timing and peak
Sambado said peak volume for California cherries is expected from May 17 to June 7. “I see this season as close to ‘normal’ and a bit on the late side,” he said, with shipments continuing until about June 14.
Bailey said there should be plenty of fruit for Memorial Day and the days thereafter. Some blocks in the northern area are quite heavy, averaging a size 10-row size, Bailey said.
Shales said timing is slightly later than normal. In general, Shales said, the industry is about a week later than the 2020 start. “This could be made up some by warmer weather, but not enough to change timing drastically,’ she said.
“We’re expecting a start around May 5-6 with peak availability running from May 17 to June 12,” Shales said. “There will be a lot of cherries harvested and shipped in June in California, which is not always the case.” California is expected to harvest well into June and so there may be an overlap between that and the Northwest crop, Shales said.
“I do not see any gaps from what I am being told from the packers up north, said Chris Medeiros, general manager of Gustine, Calif.-based Meena Farms. “Weather may be the challenge on the Northwest front end,” he said.
Organic cherry production in California is limited, shippers said. “Organic cherries are difficult to grow and the main market for organic cherries are when Washington cherries are in peak season,” Shales said.
Variety trends
Coral cherry varieties are increasing, shippers said. Meena Farms has increased its coral cherry acreage, Medeiros said. Coral is a low-acid cherry with glossy dark flesh and very sweet flavor, according to calcherry.com. “The big shift in the industry and for Stemilt has been the increased volumes of coral cherries,” Shales said. “It is a great cherry when it comes to firmness and flavor, and transports well for the important export markets. Stemilt also grows some of the “royal” type cherries to harvest earlier in locations that are not always early for California standards, she said.
