The cherry harvest has started in Otago, New Zealand, the early varieties will go to the domestic market and the export varieties will be harvested starting mid-December.
Cherri Global has around 90 hectares in production with a further 70 hectares which have been planted in the last year or two, and a further 147 hectares of land for future planting.
"When Phil Alison established Cherri Global in 2017 he purchased 6 existing cherry orchards and new land for growth. All our new plantings have been planted using the ‘planar cordon’ method which is 3-4x more productive than traditional growing methods," explains Anna Catley, Sales & Marketing Manager at the company.
The weather so far has been excellent for cherry growing. The warm days and cool nights has promoted good fruit set and according to Anna it looks like it will be a bumper crop. Early indications also show they should have larger sized cherries than the previous season.
Soon 100% of the mature cherry production in Otago will be under cover, which is around 35 hectares.
"We have nearly completed the installation of the covers for the current year's programme. We are really excited about these rain covers, as are our customers because it guarantees quality and supply.
Samba, Sonnet and Stella are the first varieties to be harvested, followed by Kordia and Rainier then Lapin, Sweetheart and Staccato, to name a few.
"Our season will be around 8-9 weeks depending on fruit maturity. We harvest the cherries at peak ripeness and export via air freight to ensure maximum freshness for our customers. Each variety ripens over an approx. 7-10 day window so during that period we do 2-3 picks before moving on to the next variety, by having a range of different varieties it extends our season. We select varieties for planting based on their timing, quality and export potential."
At the moment the company exports to China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan.
"Due to our extensive planting programme and projected growth we are keen to expand into other markets as well, and we are always interested to speak with potential new partners, whether that be in existing or new markets."
For more information:
Anna Catley
Cherri Global
anna@cherri.global
Tel: +64273134359