Stemilt Growers preparing for big cherry volume in Washington

Optimism is running high for the Washington cherry crop, says Brianna Shales.

Shales, the marketing director for Stemilt Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., said in mid-May that the marketer began cherry harvest in California the first week of May, which is late for that region.

In Washington state, Shales said the cherry crop will start a little later than last year.

“It’s has been a unique kind of bloom period for Washington cherries,” she said.

Cold weather earlier in the season has pushed back the start date for the first harvest from the first week of June to about June 10-12.

Recent warm weather could cause some compression between growing districts. In any case, Shales said Stemilt will have plenty of cherries in July and into August.

Stemilt offers both conventional and organic cherries. Organic cherries are mostly marketed from mid-June through the end of July, while conventional fruit will continue strong well into August.

Great expectations

Last year’s Washington cherry crop was about 50% of a normal crop, and this year provides the potential to bounce back in a good way, Shales said.

A good volume of Stemilt’s early Washington cherries comes from the Columbia Basin region near Mattawa and Quincy, with some from Yakima.

Stemilt then transitions to the lower Wenatchee region, with higher-elevation regions following in later July.

Cherry sizing is expected good this year, Shales said.

Stemilt will continue to highlight Stemilt’s Kyle Mathison’s higher elevation cherries this year, she said.

Shales said Stemilt’s packaging formats will remain relatively the same as in 2022, with a combination of top-seal packages, pouch bags and clamshell options.

This year, Stemilt will offer new branding on its Kyle’s Pick cherries. Those cherries, marketed in the July time frame, offer the very sizes, firmness, sugar levels of fruit from select varieties.

“We are going to bring Kyle to the forefront of that package and make it really look like the premium offering that it is,” Shales said.

In addition to its dark sweet cherries, Stemilt also will offer rainier cherries and Skylar Rae cherries. Those niche selections will be very important in July this year, Shales said.

Retail excitement

Consumers and retailers both embrace cherries as one of the few truly seasonal fresh produce items, Shales said, and Stemilt will share the story of its cherries through social media channels.

Retailers didn’t have the volume of cherries to promote in 2022 that they would have liked, but Shales said retailers are excited about this season.

Significant June cherry volume from California should help retailers fill the pipeline for Fourth of July cherry promotions, despite less-than-ideal volume for the holiday from the Northwest.

“I think it is going to be tight for a lot of Washington suppliers to make promotions for July 4,” Shales said.

After the Fourth of July ads, Washington cherry suppliers will be in prime position to help retailers build promotions.

“Retailers should be able to get multiple promotions on cherries this year,” Shales said.

Shales said export demand for Washington cherries is expected to be strong, with global customers keenly interested in high-quality, large-sized Northwest cherries.