The Greek cherry season seems to be unbothered by bad weather conditions so far, says Onur Mustafa Ahmet, general manager of Greek cherry exporter YAKA: "In terms of cherry sensitivities, the weather conditions in our region and in all northern Greece went quite well until now. The cold and rain conditions were quite normal. The blossoms already started at the beginning of April for the most varieties and it seems that we do not have any losses. If the weather conditions continue normally, without any bad surprises like hail or cold below zero, all trees will be loaded with good quality cherries. According to our agronomists and specialists from other regions, we believe that the cherry season will start about 7-10 days earlier than the normal, so at the beginning of May instead of mid-May."
Thanks to the weather conditions, the new season looks to be much better than the previous one, Mustafa Ahmet explains. "The 2023 cherry season was disaster for the large majority in Greece. The yield was quite low and the quality was probably one of the worst. This coming season we expect to be close the 2022 or 2020 cherry season, which there were high yields and good quality. After the previous bad cherry season, our goal this year is to operate about 1500 tons of cherries, as long as the weather conditions will not surprise us negatively as they did last year, by raining all the time during the season."
According to Mustafa Ahmet, YAKA's cherry capacity is about 2,000 tons: "We've invested in cherry sorting and packing two years ago, by increasing the capacity of our optic calibrator by 33%. We also invested in equipment and infrastructure of our facilities, so that the operational efficiency has increased. As a result, we have the capacity to operate, calibrate and pack about 50 tons of cherries every day, and about 2,000 tons over the course of the season.
Looking at the packaging side of things, Mustafa Ahmet has noticed a certain trend for the cherries. "Especially after the covid-years, we have seen that the global trends in cherries about packaging have changed. More specifically, closed and smaller packs have become more popular. The share of 500gr clamshells and small carry-bags increased significantly these last two years, and this is true in all markets."
YAKA has another product in its portfolio these days, Mustafa Ahmet states: "Next to cherries, YAKA invested in blueberry cultivation. As of today, we have the largest blueberry farm in Greece and the farm is already certified as organic. Last year, we had the first crops and about ten tons of production, which was absorbed by all Greek super markets. With the increasing yields every year and the increasing plant investments, we expect to reach 100 tons of blueberry production in a couple of years."
"Besides our own cultivation, YAKA also advertised and encouraged the local growers to invest in blueberry cultivation. As of today, there are 10 blueberry growers under its GlobalGap certification, and YAKA provides them the same services as it does with its 200 cherry growers," Mustafa Ahmet concludes.
For more information:
Onur Mustafa Ahmet
YAKA
Tel: +30 2531 082 800
Mobile: +30 694 878 5259
Email: [email protected]
www.yaka.gr