The harvest of the earliest and most expensive cherries in the world, which are grown in greenhouses in Sucs and Almacelles (Lleida), will begin this Thursday. The harvest is delayed a week when compared to other years because of the Russian veto on the community's agri-food production, as Russia was the country that absorbed the first sales.
To compensate for the loss of the Russian customers, which accounted for 14% of its market, the EDOA Company has focused its initial cherry exports, christened Cherries Glamour, to the East; Qatar and Dubai are their major markets.
The first shipments will arrive in Doha, Barcelona and Madrid, said the commercial director of Edoa, Oscar Ortiz.
Edoa cultivates five hectares of cherries in greenhouses of Almacelles and Sucs, and packages them in a plant in Fraga (Huesca). According to the company they have the earliest cherry harvest in March.
The harvest of conventional cherries begins in the first days of April, when this company ends its early cherry harvest.
The company sells its largest cherries, which are 3.4 centimetres in diameter, two millimetres bigger than a two-Euro coin, at 125 Euro per kilo, the same price as in the previous season.
This year, the company expects to market 50 tons, 10 tons less than in 2014 because they have already uprooted half a hectare to plant new varieties.
The company is also getting investment to increase their productive area by 6 hectares in Belver de Cinca (Huesca) the next 6 years as they have their eyes set on the Asian market.
According to Ortiz, "We will increase our area by 10,000 square meters this year, by another 20,000 in 2016, and by 30,000 more in 2017."
"We have a commitment with China and what we are doing is planting varieties that have a longer life so we can unload them more easily in the Asian market," he added.