The cherry bloom is underway in Chile and it's suggesting a larger crop this coming season. "September to early October is a fragile time because of weather changes like rain, a freeze or hot temperatures, which affect pollination and fruit set," says Evan Myers of Forever Fresh LLC. "Things do look good. The volumes they're projecting are a good increase over last year."
© Forever Fresh LLC
A close up look at the bloom. Photos: Forever Fresh LLC grower/owner Garces Fruit.
Cherry volumes continue to grow exponentially out of Chile following increased plantings over the last five years. "We would need to see a significant weather event that covers multiple cherry growing regions in Chile to see a big drop in overall production," says Myers.
This sets up the crop to begin bringing fruit into the U.S. around week 43 as part of the first air arrivals for Forever Fresh. "Air shipments typically begin industry wide week 46," says Myers. Fruit is expected to continue to be available in the U.S. through the middle of March. "Last year the U.S. brought in roughly 4 million boxes and we as a company brought in about 25 percent of that."
The adoption of winter cherries
In terms of demand and the consumption of Chilean cherries, Myers says they're an item retailers like to promote. "It's an item consumers get behind and will buy throughout the winter in the U.S. The volumes compared to the domestic deal are significantly lower and the price points out of the U.S. are different," says Myers. "However, U.S. consumers are getting used to buying cherries and in the winter, it's slowly becoming that way. There's good feedback from the retailers about ads and promotions. The industry missed a big promotion window last year due to the potential port strike in January, something we hopefully will not face this season."
© Forever Fresh LLCCherry volumes continue to grow out of Chile following increased plantings over the last five years.
In terms of pricing compared to last year, while there will be tariffs on imported product from Chile, Myers adds that pricing will be dictated by the total volume sent to the U.S. "I think there will be some strong promotions during the peak volume coming in, which is starting early January through Valentine's Day," he says.
For more information:
Evan Myers
Forever Fresh LLC.
Tel: +1 (302) 510-8538
[email protected]
https://www.foreverfreshllc.com/