The British cherry season has got off to a great start. Herefordshire has been picking for two weeks, and Norfolk is also picking. Next week, Kent and Suffolk will start.
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"The crop is looking good, just as it should be," said Jon Clark, Managing Director at Fruit World International. "It will not be a heavy crop, but there has been little fruit drop, and the quality is good. Growers are really on top of the picking, and the sugars and taste are very good, sizes are also looking good, around 1-2 mm larger than last year, which is quite a bit on a cherry."
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It was thought that the UK cherry season would start very early in the last days of May, but that didn't quite happen. However, on the 1st of June, it all began. The season will run for around four months until the end of September/early October.
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"We are just selling on the domestic market at the moment, later in June, we will have the stronger varieties which can be exported. We have already had a lot of interest from overseas customers, this is due to the frosts in Turkey, Greece, and other cherry-growing countries. Spain was late starting, but is moving quickly through their fruit, as people who would normally source from Turkey and Greece are looking to Spain for cherries. I think the UK will see a big demand later in the month from overseas buyers."
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Fruit World International is now in its second year with the premium cherry brands Blossom and Bonanza, which are supplied in the UK to wholesale, independent retailers, boutique shops, and farm shops, and internationally to a range of customers from wholesale to retail. The company also has a generic brand to market the non-premium fruit.
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"By the third week of June, we will be exporting cherries to Europe, the Middle and Far East, and are hopeful protocols will open to other countries and allow exports there so they can taste the delights of the British cherries."
For more information:
Jon Clark
Fruit World International
Tel: +44 (0) 7525 668880
[email protected]
www.fruitworld.co.uk
