“Protected production becoming ever more important for cherries”

BelOrta’s cherry season has started again. The first cherries from protected production were supplied late in May. To guarantee a better shelf life, the cherries are hydro-cooled.

Prospects for the new cherry season are positive. BelOrta expects a normal to good harvest. “We’re seeing a good production in both early and late varieties,” says Etienne Leclere in late-May. The division head of fruit sales says growing conditions were good. “Perhaps a little too good. The weather has been good with plenty of sunny hours for a while now. In the flowering season and the period following that we actually had barely any rain. Perhaps we even had a bit too little moisture. Because of the short flowering period, the harvest will probably also be finished sooner. Yet we expect we’ll be able to harvest plenty of cherries from all varieties.”

A large part of the cherries is grown in the Belgian Haspengouw fruit region, with productions in Borgloon and Sint-Truiden to Wallonia and Voeren. BelOrta’s cherry acreage has shown a rising line for years, and will amount to 235 hectares in total this season. Part of it is protected production, about 15 per cent is covered now. “This means the majority of cherries still concerns open production, but we’ve seen more and more is becoming covered production. New growers in particular want to invest in protected production. Covering the orchards is quite expensive, but does offer harvest security. Considering the changing and ever more extreme weather conditions, this can be quite valuable.” Etienne says climate is a hot issue for the cooperative. Protected production is becoming more important, and according to him, it could possibly be essential in future.

The BelOrta growers have about 15 varieties in production, of which Samba, Summit, Kordia, Lapin, Karina, Regina and Sweetheart are the best known. The smaller varieties are grouped under the Freya name for softer varieties and Juno for the firmer ones. Practically all cherries are marketed under the BelOrta flag. Last year, a new box was introduced. “This box has been specially designed for the cherries, and has a warm, dark red colour in harmony with the cherries. The new packaging has now become a permanent value for both national and international buyers. Cherries are traditionally often offered loose. Discounters, however, offer the product in punnets more and more often.”

In recent years, the cooperative also invested in hydro-cooling and an electronic sorting installation. After the harvest, the cherries are placed in the hydro-cooler right away to neutralise the temperature of the cherries as quickly as possible. “The installation can handle six tonnes per hour, and by means of sprayed ice water the field heat of the cherries down to the stone is brought down to 4 to 0.5 degrees Celsius in just ten minutes,” Etienne explains. “This results in a better shelf life for the cherries, which offers more opportunities to distribution and export to countries further away. Besides, we’ve had a new electronic sorting installation at our disposal since last season, so that the cooled cherries are sorted into a good, homogeneous and qualitative product.”

Although weather conditions have been good this season up till now, with high temperatures and not much rain, the actual yield remains a surprise up to the harvest. At the time of writing, the good varieties from outdoor production are starting to colour. The fruit is thus becoming more and more sensitive for precipitation. “Nothing is as fickle as the weather. In recent weeks, we’ve had some thunder and hail, with a bit of damage in some places, but it’s not too bad. We could use some rain, although that can be quite dangerous at this stage. Everything could go wrong because of heavy downpour,” he says. Etienne expects large volumes will start arriving mid-June, with Samba followed by Summit. “The peak will be in July. Early in July, Kordia, the hit among cherries, particularly regarding flavour, will start. This is followed by Regina, Lapin and Sweetheart. In the last week of July, the season will probably be over again.”

The cherries on the market have sold well thus far. Etienne also feels positive about the remainder of the season. “Much depends on the weather. Summery weather boosts demand. If it stays like this, I don’t predict any problems, although this could never be said with complete certainty. The market is currently being flooded by strawberries. These are turning a wonderful red in front of your very eyes. Everything is arriving on the market at the same time, which means prices are weaker.” The remainder of soft fruit is doing well, but isn’t in full production yet.

BelOrta

Etienne Leclere