NZ: Cherry crop light, but bigger fruit
Packhouse manager Nicola Whyte said they planned to begin exporting cherries to South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam next week. The timing of the season at Cherryland had been about normal.
Hot, sunny days and not too much rain meant the quality of the fruit had been pretty good, Whyte said. The lighter crop meant the size of the cherries were bigger this year, with the size of cherries averaging between 28 and 38 millimetres.
Whyte put the light crop down to variable temperatures during winter. The change between colder and warmer weather had a bad effect on the buds.
The timing of the season was later than last year, but last year had been an early season, Whyte said.
At the height of the season about 30 pickers collected cherries from Cherryland's 6500 trees.
As well as the export of cherries to overseas markets, the cherries are sold in Auckland and at the Blenheim orchard. People can also pick their own cherries at the orchard.
Source: stuff.co.nz
