The new cherry season is less than a month away at Koala Cherries in Victoria, Australia. "We are busily making last-minute preparations for the season, and the whole business is working to a deadline, so everything needs to be finished off and ready to start," said Michael Rouget, Managing Director at the company.
"The weather has been pretty kind so far. We experienced a little bit of frost damage early on, but came through that to end up with a nice crop. We are just about through the frost danger period, with only about 10 days to go. It has been quite dry the last 6 weeks, and as cherry farmers, we now hope that continues through harvest."
© Koala Cherries
Koala Cherries grow in 3 regions of Victoria: Cobram in the north, Yarck in north central Victoria, and a high elevation area in the Strathbogie Ranges. They have about 250 hectares producing and a further 50 hectares coming into production over the next few years.
The first picking at Koala Cherries will take place around 12th November, about a week later than normal.
© Koala Cherries
"We have had a pretty good spring. A bit drier than we expected, but we have sufficient irrigation water. Ideal pollination weather is cool and dry. It is still a little bit early to tell exactly what is staying on the tree, but it seems like an excellent crop in the early Cobram region, a medium crop in the mid season-Yarck area, and too early to tell on the late farm, but it flowered really well and we had good conditions for pollination so we expect a good set there also. Overall, I would say a nice medium crop, capable of producing some excellent-sized fruit."
According to Michael, there is plenty of interest at this stage in planning this season's sales.
© Nichola McGregor | FreshPlaza.com
Craig Boulton, Michael Rouget, and Chris Chen at Asia Fruit Logistica
"Customers always look forward to the first cherries. We can feel that markets are lifting a little bit after a slower couple of years. Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China are our main markets; Malaysia and Indonesia also like our cherries. Hong Kong is a favourite of ours that we have supplied for many years. Our brand is well known there and seems to connect well with the people. We'd like to make a start in South Korea, and India is also of interest to us."
For more information:
Michael Rouget
Koala Cherries Pty Ltd
Tel: +61 3 5773 4250
Email: [email protected]
www.koalacherries.com.au
