Some early season cherries are heading for the packhouse over this past week in California. Harvesting of Tioga variety cherries began last week and suppliers expect shipments to begin any day now. Predictions are for the California crop to come in at record volume this year, especially on the prized Bing variety.
"A few early Tioga variety cherries started on Wednesday," said Rick Chong of Sutherland S.A. Produce. "We are a few days behind the 2018 season and we expect to begin packing export quality cherries May 1st. Suppliers are anticipating a record crop of 10-12M cartons, versus a short crop of 4M cartons in 2018. The first varieties are Burlat, Tioga, Hazel, and Brooks, there will be some overlap from districts as the season progresses. We expect to begin volumes by the middle of May once the Coral variety starts, followed by extremely large volumes of Bing."
Buyers "excited" to get started
The start of the domestic cherry season is typically accompanied by eager anticipation on the part of buyers and this year is no exception. Demand is reported to be strong for new crop cherries and producers will be looking to move significant volumes throughout the season, both domestically and internationally. Chong said quality is also good to start off with which should provide a boost as the season gets underway.
"Initial quality has been very good and purchasers are excited to get started," he observed. "Supermarket shelves are empty and shoppers are demanding California grown cherries. We have been inundated with purchasers wanting to buy cherries and that is always a good sign! With the huge record crop this season, we are all motivated to move volumes. Pricing will be aggressive and we will be looking to increase export volumes to Asia in particular."
Chong also mentioned some of the improvements that California growers have implemented to try and help move more cherries. "California is constantly improving quality, with their move to high-tech optical lines, better post-harvest cooling, and more emphasis on targeting export markets."
Improving offerings for retailers
Sutherland S.A. Produce grows, packs and markets fruit in several countries. Cherries are one of their core commodities and as a result, the company said it is always working on ways to innovate for its customers. Chong shared what Sutherland has been working on this year, including its packaging offerings.
"Our focus this season has been improving retail customer expectations, by developing more environmentally friendly packaging, offering more pack sizes and a shift to providing online sales with retail ready-to-ship packaging," he said. "We see a strong demand from our clients to differentiate themselves from their competition. Subsequently, we continue to develop strong brand recognition by offering exclusive labeling, more choice, and an excellent social media presence and marketing plan."
He concluded by noting that the environmental focus has extended to the way the team works. "In the past two years, we have become almost 100 percent paperless in the office, as we have moved our company towards online cloud-based technology. Lessening our impact on the environment is a priority for us, both in the field and our offices."
For more information:
Rick Chong
Sutherland S.A. Produce, Inc.
Ph: +1 (403) 616-1977
[email protected]
www.cherries.global
