Portrait of a sweet cherry breeder: Gregorio Lopez-Ortega
18 Jan 2024
n this article, José Quero García, member of the technical-scientific committee of Cherry Times, interviewed Gregorio Lopez-Ortega, breeder at the Chilean company Hortifrut.
U.S. cherries are always a prominent product in China during summer. This year, though, the beginning of the season has reached the lowest values in recent years.
In the first part of the season (the end of July) cherries were sold in Chinese supermarkets for $11.50 (83.9 Chienese yuan) and in some instances reached lower prices dipping at $2.45 (17.9 yuan) for 250 grams of product.
However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it seems the 2023 season will have a substantial increase in production, notably a 60% increase from previous year.
Although, despite of this increase in production, the product that reached China in the first part of the season was not expected to be as soft. Even Chinese consumers and cherry enthusiast were under the expected numbers.
This, as well as the oversuppling of cherries lead to a sluggish first part of the 2023 season for the U.S. cherries in Chinese market.
Read the full article: Produce Report
