The Washington cherry crop is running late this season, but it will be well worth waiting for, says Dan Davis, director of business development for Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash.
Harvest timing was as much as two weeks beyond last year, Davis said.
At close to 15 million cartons a year ago, Davis said cherry production should rate above the five-year average and may come in from the low to mid-20s-million-carton range.
Starr Ranch Growers expects to start in a small way around June 18-20, with volume ramping up by June 25. Shipments will continue strong through July and run through the entire month of August.
While Northwest cherry shippers are typically shipping heavy for the Fourth of July, this year volume for holiday promotions will be tighter.
California cherries may be harvested until the second or third week of June, Davis said.
“For all the thoughts that we were going to overlap California, we’re not going to have much overlap,” he said. “I think it is going to be a tough gap to bridge actually.”
Starr Ranch Growers offers a combination of pouch bags, clamshell and top-seal packs, Davis said. Clamshells can be a good option for e-commerce retail platforms, he said, while pouch bags are still popular for selling cherries with large, eye-catching displays at retail, he said.
Export markets are expected to show strong demand for Northwest cherries, Davis said, with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan typically among the firm’s top export markets.
Starr Ranch Growers does offer organic cherries, and its volume of organic cherries has been increasing in recent years.
One concern this year for Northwest organic growers is the lateness of the bloom. Mildew can be an issue for organic fruit later in the summer because there are not as many crop protection tools to combat it compared with conventionally grown fruit.
Cold is key
The key to cherry quality for both conventional and organic fruit is the cold chain, and Starr Ranch Growers has that covered from the field to the packinghouse, Davis said, as cherries are hydrocooled in the field and then placed in refrigerated trucks to the packing house, where the fruit is immediately put in cold rooms.
“Cold is the biggest focus as far as preserving cherry [shelf] life,” he said.
Starr Ranch Growers features Unitec cherry-packing technology with advanced optical sizing and grading capabilities.
