The open ground cherry campaign kicked off a few days ago in the earliest areas of Catalonia. A month ago, the harvest had been predicted to start earlier, but this has eventually not been the case due to the drop in temperatures. Recent rains have caused some damage to certain early varieties that were being harvested, but not to a very significant extent.
"Our cherry campaign started on April 8 with the varieties grown under plastic and on April 28 we began marketing the first open ground cherries," says David Manero, a producing partner at Cerima Cherries.
"We started a few days earlier than last year, when the harvest kicked off on May 4. We could have started even earlier, as the spring has been very warm until about two weeks ago, but the sudden drop in temperatures has cut our advantage short," he says.
"A few days ago, we had between 12 and 15 liters per square meter of rainfall in our producing areas, and some of the varieties that were already being harvested, like the Mimba, will have been affected, but generally, it will not have a significant impact on our volumes, and we will be able to continue supplying our customers without any problems," says David Manero.
According to the producer and marketer, a lower cherry production is expected this year. "There will be fewer kilos of early cherries this year. The harvest will be normal again from the second or third week of May, although it will still be lower than in the previous campaign."
"The campaign has started well in terms of prices. We have a wide range of varieties, although the harvest in our producing areas is carried out mostly in May and June; a period when there is still not a large supply of cherries in the European markets," says David Manero.
For more information:
David Manero
Cerima Cherries
T: +34 977 418 346
cerima@cerimacherries.com
www.cerimacherries.com