"I've never seen such a good start for the cherry campaign"

The cherry harvest has already started in Spain, in the early producing areas of the Lower Ebro, in Tarragona, where the harvest has kicked off 5 days earlier, as well as in Murcia, where there have been enough cold hours, and in Fraga, where companies like Llamfruit are based.

"We started selling the first greenhouse cherries from our production partner Javier de Pablo Camarasa yesterday and we are now also starting to harvest our first cherries in the open ground," explains Carlos Llambrich, manager of Llamfruit.

"We are harvesting early varieties, such as the Early Bigi, among others, which we sell in the domestic market. In 10 days, we will have varieties suitable for export, such as the Frisco."

 

"The first batches have an excellent quality, since this year, unlike in the previous one, there has been no rainfall prior to the harvest and we have not suffered any cracking problems, so the losses are zero. The fruit's hardness is optimal and the Brix levels very suitable to facilitate the marketing of the first early cherries. The weather forecasts for the coming weeks are promising, so we expect a quiet start for the campaign," he points out. "I've never seen such a good start as this."

At the moment, there are only small volumes available in the market and prices, according to Carlos Llambrich, are very high, "at levels similar to those recorded at this time in the previous season. Next week when more volumes from other producers begin to arrive, prices will also start to fall. So far there have been no climatological complications in any production areas, so higher volumes are expected everywhere, perhaps even record high."

Llamfruit exports to various countries in Europe and to the United Arab Emirates and Asia.

"We have been shipping to Hong Kong for about 5 years, although with small volumes, since most of the varieties we have are intended for less distant destinations. Although it is an interesting market because of the prices paid, we don't have high expectations for the short-term future. In the meantime, what is shipped to Hong Kong remains in this city and doesn't reach China, as it used to do, and importers are more cautious. There are other Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, with a greater import capacity at this time and for which we have better prospects."