The cherry season 2018 is coming to an end. At the Belgian Fruit Valley, a record supply of more than 2 million kg of cherries was recorded. The weather conditions were ideal this season. The dry and sunny weather ensured excellent quality. The graph below shows the cherry supply at the BFV from 2000 up to 2018.
Thanks to this record supply in combination with the state-of-the-art electronic sorting with hydro-cooling, the wholesale can offer top quality cherries from Belgian soil to consumers and at the same time limit the import of foreign cherries to an absolute minimum. Thanks to the BFV media campaign, 80% of the sales were realized domestically. Export opportunities for cherries were more limited this season because, due to the good weather throughout Europe, other cherry regions came into production simultaneously. As a result, prices were unfortunately under pressure.
The BFV is fully committed to a professional cherry cultivation with attractive, firm and tasty varieties that have a very good shelf life (Samba, Kordia, Regina, Sweetheart). The acreage of these varieties has therefore risen sharply. More and more cherry growers are also opting for protected cherry cultivation (rain coverings with irrigation), which in turn is an important asset to be able to offer continuity in supply to the market. The Belgian cherry acreage has increased to more than 1000 ha in recent years. Since 2010, 400 ha has been added.
For more information;
Betty Slingers
Betty Slingers
Email: Betty.Slingers@bfv.be