Cherry growers in the Northwest have always known that the best way to successfully navigate the cherry season, which lasts 3 months, is to produce excellent quality fruit from start to finish. This year they have outdone themselves, producing fruit that drives repeat purchases and that consumers eagerly await all summer long.
In 2024, our growers will deliver cherries that will leave consumers wanting more and more! Thanks to the perfect climate for production, we are seeing uniformly colored red and yellow cherries with a brix of 20% and above.
Over 80% of the shipped crop is sized 10.5 row (26mm+) or larger. We are currently shipping over 350,000 boxes per day, bringing the season's total to 3,110,730 boxes (equivalent to 20 pounds - up to June 19, 2024).
It is expected that shipments will exceed 400,000 boxes per day by early next week!
Image 1: comparison of daily shipments between the five-year average, the 2024 estimate, and the actual 2024 data.
Get your promotions ready: despite shipments being in line with pre-season estimates, most growers report that early varieties are yielding a bit less than hoped. The good news is that later varieties, such as Bing and Skeena, seem to have moderate or medium-sized crops on the trees.
As mentioned earlier, these lighter sets have led to excellent quality so far... and it should remain that way until the last cherry is shipped in mid-August!
Source: Northwest Cherries
Images: Northwest Cherries
27 Jan 2025
The Cherry Marketing Institute, which represents 385 growers of cherries across the country, congratulates the Food and Drug Administration for its support of tart cherries in the recently announced decision.
30 Nov 2023
Seven new cultivars have already been released: Narana, Swing® PiSue 192, Habunt, Areko, Polka, Aria® PiSue 161, and PiSue 177. Nineteen new promising breeding clones are currently under multi-site testing and approximately 100 clones are in stage II evaluation.
28 Jan 2026
Areko shines among Chilean cherries thanks to its excellent condition after 40 days of cold storage. Promoted by ANA Chile, this variety joins Sweet Saretta and Sweet Stephany, two promising UNIBO cherries with strong performance in size, firmness, and post-harvest durability.
28 Jan 2026
Embryo rescue is a key technique to improve early sweet cherry propagation by overcoming embryo abortion. A study from Washington State University explores culture media, hormones, and fruit stages to enhance in vitro germination with promising outcomes.
