In 2024, cherry production faced numerous challenges due to climate conditions, that affected both the amount and the quality of the harvest. Late frosts, heavy rains, and other weather-related events put significant pressure on growers, drastically reducing production in some cases. Despite these challenges, the demand for cherries remained high, with prices rising especially for premium-quality fruit.
In this complex scenario, UNITEC technologies have provided a decisive solution for the industry. Advanced systems like Cherry Vision 3.0 and 3.5 AI have revolutionized the way cherries are selected and sorted. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, these technologies allow to detect external defects with extreme precision, such as imperfections in the skin or variations in color and shape, ensuring that only high-quality fruit is delivered to the market.
Additionally, with the use of cutting-edge sensors, UNITEC’s sorting systems can also analyze the internal parameters of cherries, thus maximizing the value of every single fruit. Indeed, with UNIQ Cherry, it is possible to detect ripeness and firmness, further enhancing the effectiveness of the sorting process.
These innovative solutions enable fruit packing houses to significantly boost operational margins, drastically reduce labor costs, and entering new markets by offering consistent quality to their Customers—a key factor in building trust between the parties.
Thanks to these advanced technologies, all developed in-house by UNITEC’s R&D department at their headquarters in Italy, producers are better equipped to handle climate challenges while maintaining a high level of competitiveness. They can bring guaranteed quality cherries to market, even under adverse weather conditions.
06 Jun 2023
Cherry growers are looking for solutions to improve the efficiency of their plants, guarantee the product quality demanded by the markets and reduce production costs. These include the mechanisation of certain cultivation operations such as pruning and harvesting.
14 Feb 2024
The B.C. Cherry Association says last month's polar vortex led to a meeting of members declaring that they would meet with provincial and federal government officials to discuss the situation the industry is facing.
28 Feb 2025
Export volumes have already exceeded 5,000 tonnes, driven by high demand during the Chinese New Year period in East Asia. Taiwan remains the largest market, followed by China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
28 Feb 2025
Each cherry was manually labelled to indicate position, shape and grade, considering aspects such as ripeness, health of the fruit and position in relation to the camera.
