—by Jonelle Mejica
Northwest cherry growers report high-quality fruit and good volume as the 2024 harvest begins.
According to a news release from Northwest Cherries, the Yakima, Washington-based organization that collectively promotes cherries grown in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah, the weather in the Northwest this spring has been optimal for growing sweet cherries.
The latest estimate for the 2024 Northwest dark sweet and Rainier (yellow) cherry crop predicts between 17 and 20 million boxes (20-pound equivalent). While the Rainier crop appears to be slightly shorter than the five-year average of 1.7 million boxes, Northwest Cherries expects significant volume of yellow cherries in late June and well into July. Late-season volumes in some areas may be significantly reduced by the extreme cold events that occurred in January.
The California crop is still shipping just over 200,000 boxes a day (18-pound equivalent). “Overlap is not a bad thing, as it allows retailers to hold shelf space, and there will be plenty of time for the California cherries to clear the market before Northwest is going full speed,” according to the release. •
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