"Greater quality cherries and more stable prices this year"

"This year we have started the campaign in early May, about fourteen days later than usual," explains Carlos Llambrich, manager of Llamfruit Cherry. This week we expect to finish harvesting the early varieties and move on to the Frisco and Rocket, given that the fruit ripens very quickly as a result of the favourable weather conditions."

The producer and exporter explained that the earliest varieties are mostly intended for the domestic market, since those "still fail to reach the Brix levels of good cherries; their flesh is softer and their shelf life too short for the export markets."

"We will ship the first Frisco and Rocket cherries (with a more intense colour and larger calibres) to the UAE, which we visited this year in a very positive trade mission to Dubai. Moreover, this year we intend to continue exporting to Hong Kong, from where the fruit is further distributed to Singapore and Malaysia," he says, adding that "this year it appears no cherries will be redistributed to China due to the introduction of stricter phytosanitary protocols."

While Carlos Lambrich points out that prices early in the season have not been as high as last year, he also notes that they have been more stable. "Even though this week market supply has been on the rise because of the high temperatures, prices have not suffered any decline and average prices by the end of the campaign are expected to be higher."

The exporter also stresses the quality of this year's production, since despite the 25% to 30% drop in early volumes, "there have been fewer discards and second-class categories," he says. He also expects harvest volumes to eventually reach a similar level to last year's.

Llamfruit Cherry will continue its stonefruit campaign during the whole summer with nectarines, peaches and flat peaches, although they will remain committed to being cherry specialists.

"This year we reached an agreement with two producers and marketers of greenhouse cherries. The goals are to achieve a greater concentration of supply and to extend the campaign. Additionally, we created a new brand, Cherry Lovers, to differentiate the quality of the early varieties which fail to meet the highest requirements," he concludes.

More information:
Carlos Llambrich
Llamfruits Cherry S.L.
+34 618 996 701
carlos.llamfruit@gmail.com
www.llamfruit.com