The cherry collection campaign has begun in the Valle del Jerte and the first fruits have already begun to enter the Association of Cooperatives of this region, which is located in Valdastillas (Caceres).
The president of the Association of Cooperatives Valle del Jerte, Emilio Sanchez, said that, for the moment, the entry of cherries was gradual and that few kilos had been collected so far. "Just as in previous seasons", Sanchez said.
Despite this, Sanchez said he was confident that they would start achieving 70,000 to 80,000 kilos of cherries per day pretty soon.
Some of the farmers began the harvest on Friday, while others were waiting for the beginning of the week to take their cherries to the association of cooperatives, Sanchez said, adding that this campaign had started late because of weather conditions.
The Burlat are slightly smaller than in previous campaigns, while the other varieties have a good caliber, he said.
He restated that this year's cherry harvest campaign had begun late, when compared to previous years, because spring had been delayed and because some rains had damaged the early cherries that were limp in the trees.
He also stated that the winter had been warm for the cherry trees so they had been unable to accumulate enough cold hours, a circumstance that might harm this year's cherry campaign.
Source: expansion.com