It has been a long wait, but the cherry season has finally begun at the Belgian BelOrta. "It's a great start, but the still relatively limited volumes along with consumers' desire for tasty cherries is causing prices I've not often seen," begins Miguel Demaeght of BelOrta, which has 224 hectares of cherries.
"The market's been craving Belgian cherries for a while, but due to the cold spring weather, we had to wait two weeks longer than last year. That wasn't necessarily detrimental because the Belgian cherries have the luxury of an empty market. We're usually a bit earlier than the Dutch cherries, and unlike other years, there's no spillover with French or Spanish cherries. That's mainly because we're slightly later, and production in those countries has been somewhat disappointing."
More than enough room for the Belgian cherry, then. "It also seems people are eager for these dark, crispy cherries. We still had the early varieties last week, but this week, we started in full force with Kordia. However, even the early varieties are selling very well. Countries like the Netherlands are participating well in the market because their cherries are still a while off, but they're eager to get started. It shows that, besides beer and chocolate, they still look to us for other products," says Miguel.
Limited volumes and high prices
Still, even BelOrta's volumes are slightly lower than in other years. "It's always hard to estimate cherries. The Kordia yields, for example, will be somewhat lower, but Regina seems to be faring well. Overall, partly due to the spring frost, volumes will probably be a third less than in other years. The quality, on the other hand, is fantastic. We had ideal weather in April and May, greatly benefiting the cherries. Fortunately, the recent warm weeks had no further impact. Next week we'll also start with Belgian retail."
The limited volumes and high demand are resulting in high prices, though. "I've not often seen these prices. That's great for the growers, of course, but ultimately, they must remain affordable for consumers. The prices should, thus, fall a little bit more soon. Let's just hope they'll stay at the correct level. I generally expect a nice season. One should, however, not wait too long because the Belgian cherry season is one of the shortest fruit ones, only running until about mid-August," Miguel concludes.
For more information:
Miguel Demaeght
BelOrta
120 Mechelsesteenweg
2860, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, BE
Tel: +32 (0) 126 70 260
Email: info@belorta.be
Website: www.belorta.be