Due to favourable weather, 2014-2015 Chinese peach and nectarine production is expected to be more than the previous year's lackluster crop.Production for the 2014-2015 peach and nectarine crop is expected to reach 13 million tons, noted a report released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. That's an increase of 18 percent over the previous season's production, and the report credits favourable weather for the expected uptick in volume. While the weather was conducive to good growth for this season, higher-than-normal temperatures also made for a quick start. While the season for peaches and nectarines typically gets underway in June, this season kicked off in late May. Increased production is expected to boost exports to 50,000 tons, which would be an increase of 34 percent over last season.
Similar to the peach and nectarine season, the cherry season in China, which usually begins in mid-May, got off to an early start in March. That warm weather also made for good growing conditions, which contributed to what's expected to be an increase in production of 20 percent over the previous year. If that expected increase pans out, Chinese cherry production for the 2014-2015 season will reach 220,000 tons. But while production is expected to climb, a consumer base hungry for quality cherries continues to drive demand that domestic production can't satisfy. As a result, cherry imports, the majority of which come from Chile, are expected to increase by 30 percent over the previous year.