Belgium: Cherry season only in full swing next week

It's going to be a late cherry season this year. There is tremendous demand for sweet domestic cherries, but supply is still limited. This is what Karel Belmans of the Belgian Fruit Auction tells us. "It's been a while since the season started this late. We expected to have plenty of volume early next week, but that has been postponed again. We are usually mid-season around the 5th to the 10th of July and now that will be around July 20th. The cherries are ripening a bit more due to the nice weather. We are getting some supplies in, but the supply of Kordia, a very important variety to us, will only fully start next week."

"It all looks good at the moment. The weather is favourable and the cherries are hanging nicely, although that does differ for each grower. It's insufficient for some and going very well for others. The plantings I've visited all look excellent. The flowering time can be decisive too. It can still be 1 or 2 days off, even in a region like this, where the cherries are very concentrated. Last year, about 40% of all cherries burst because of rain. If we are able to pick that volume this time, it will be a top season. We can only be sure by the end of the season, but the way things are now, this could be one of our better years. We used to say that 1 in every 5 years would be a good year and we hope this will be the one. Thankfully, they don't mention rain in the forecasts for now. We are hopeful for this year!"

Good prices
"Varieties like Summit, Samba and Sylvia are available at the moment. Some growers already started to supply Kordia. They pick out the darker ones, but that is just a small amount. We carry volumes of around 10 tonnes a day at the moment. The price for good cherries is around five Euros at the moment. This is higher than last year, even though we had a good season price wise then too."

For more information:
Karel Belmans
Belgische Fruitveiling (Belgian Fruit Auction)
Montenakenweg 82
3800 Sint-Truiden - Belgium
T: +32 (0)11 69 34 11
F: +32 (0)11 68 54 60
www.bfv.be