It's Picota cherry season again. The cherries, grown only in the Jerte valley in Extremadura are known for their sweetness and their lack of a stalk. The missing stalk is indicative of the fact that the fruit is harvested when perfectly ripened. The first fruit is expected to be picked soon, though no official date has been released as yet. Once the harvest starts the fruit should be available until the end of July.
This year there are expectations of a harvest of of 8.5 million kg. Pilar Díaz Flores of Cereze del Jerte, says the conditions have been right. "We are anticipating good production. Cherry trees need around 1,000 cold hours over the winter and sunny weather during flowering. These requirements have been met this year."
She said that last year was also a good year, but this year's harvest should be in the region of 10% more crop.
Pilar said that 50% of the total crop is destined for export markets, with the UK the main destination, followed by Germany and Italy. The cherries traditionally are very popular in the UK, where they have been marketed for the past 10 years. Pilar said, "We want to build on this success now by underlining that Picota is a unique and high quality fruit, which offers fantastic value for money, great taste – and that consumers have a limited season in which to buy them." This has lead to the creation of the "Catch Them While You Can" strapline and a stronger in-store presence.This year, for the first time, the cherries are making an appearance in Russia also.
It is perhaps fortunate that there are new market opportunities on the horizon as there may be some difficulties this season. As Pilar said, "This campaign is a challenge because of the economic difficulties across much of the European Economic Area - where the cherries are traditionally marketed. However, we are confident things will go well as we are committed to the quality and the marketing of our product.
For more information:
Pilar Díaz Flores
Cereza del Jerte
Tel: +34 608 250 969