There are few cherries and they sell quickly, although quality is not always excellent. Salvatore Russo, a wholesaler from Ortomercato di Milano, reports that "demand is lively and it is impossible to find produce already towards the middle of the day."
Retailers are currently not making purchases at the market, but they contact producers directly.
The bad weather of the past few days has meant that "early produce is lacking and various production areas were damaged. Bigarreau cherries from Puglia have been compromised in many areas and the ongoing bad weather is causing difficulties to other varieties."
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Of course there was no problem for those producers who opted for protection systems against the rain. "Veneto is doing a little better so we expect more cherries to become available as of next week."
"Prices registered between Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st May were rather high considering the quality - we go from €6-7 for medium-large grades (28-30 mm) to €4-5 for those smaller than 26 mm. Cherries with grades between 22 and 24 sell at around €2.50-3.30/kg. There is still produce from Spain and very little Italian fruit."