Spain's cherry harvest is progressing slowly, and volumes are still limited in the main producing areas. The season is, on average, two weeks delayed compared to last season. Despite this, Spanish cherries will be able to enter the Chinese market for the first time.
"Normally, we start the harvest between April 20 and 25. However, this year we could only start harvesting the earliest varieties on May 5 due to the rains during the flowering period and milder temperatures than usual," stated Carlos Llambrich, manager of Llamfruit Cherry. "Since then, we have been handling very limited quantities of product, and we hope to have more consistent quantities starting next week."
Llamfruit Cherry produces cherries on the banks of the Ebro River in the Bajo Cinca region, in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, an ideal area for this crop due to its microclimate, which usually allows a fairly early open field harvest in Europe.
"Despite everything, there's a lot of fruit on the trees. Sizes are somewhat small, but they will increase in the following varieties," Llambrich said. "Nonetheless, we are a little nervous because of this year's weather instability in much of Spain, like the series of hailstorms in various points in recent weeks. So far, we have hardly been affected by them, but we are nervous."
The company has been sending cherries to the United Arab Emirates and various European countries for the last few days, maintaining sales in the domestic market. Exports to Asia will begin at the end of next week, as they start harvesting harder varieties.
Given the recent opening of the Chinese market for Spanish cherries, Llamfruit Cherry is working to start making export trials. "We hope to ship our first cherries to China this season. We'll probably do so towards the end of the season because the treaty was just signed by both countries in April. If all goes well, next year we could send cherries to China every week. We have a lot of experience in exporting to distant destinations, especially in Asia," Llambrich stated.
This year, the company will produce slightly more cherries than last year, as the new plantations from three years ago enter production. They expect to increase production by 40% next year.
For more information:
Carlos Llambrich
Llamfruit Cherry S.L.
+34 618 996 701
Email: [email protected]
www.llamfruit.com