Spain
With a very good availability compared to the two previous years, we expect a profitable harvest, good qualities and colourings in Spanish production areas. Due to the lack of rain, cherries have been spared from botrytis or cracking problems so far, but our producers are struggling with water shortages, resulting in more medium size 26/28 and less thick fruit (32+/34+) available on the market.

Valle del Jerte
The cherry season is already beginning in the Valle del Jerte region with soft varieties that are sold on the local market. Harvesting of the hard varieties begins here at the end of week 19.

Mountain cherries  from Alicante and Murcia
After 2 years of weather-related production shortfalls, mountain cherries are coming onto the market again this year – soft varieties from the end of week 17 and hard varieties from week 19.

Tarragona and Lérida
At the same time, the soft varieties start in Tarragona and Lérida in week 17. In week 18, the export of the hard varieties Royal Tioga Nima and Red Pacific is planned.

Zaragoza
In order to extend the entire cherry season in Spain, a lot has been invested in late varieties in Zaragoza. Here, the season starts with soft varieties in week 18 and from the beginning of week 21 with hard varieties that will last until the end of July.

Greece
In some regions we expect 2-5% less produce this year. However, this will not have a negative impact.

In the last few days, there has been more rainfall in Greece – according to the weather forecast, this climate will continue to prevail in the next few days. In addition, there are large changes in day and night temperatures: During the day, temperatures can reach up to 20 degrees, whereas at night they drop to 5-7 degrees.
The fruits have developed well and will start to change colour in about 10-14 days. The season start of the hard varieties will be in week 22 or week 23.
We expect a good season with good qualities and hope that the rain in May will not have a negative impact on production.

Italy
About 30% less fruit is expected from the soft variety Bigarreaux this year compared to last year. Hard varieties such as Giorgia, Ferrovia and Duroni are also expected to decline by 20-30%. Despite all this, we do not expect any bottlenecks in production and expect a successful harvest. The main calibre will be 24/26.

Apulia
Due to a late cold weather in April, there is a season start of about 1 week later than usual this year. The first soft varieties are expected to be harvested at the end of week 18/beginning of week 19.

Verona
In the Verona area there was no damage due to frost or hail. A good harvest with “normal” quantities is expected. The calibres here are always 24/26 – there is hardly any thick fruit here.

Piedmont
In Piedmont, the Kordia variety is expected to start the season in mid-June. Similar to Puglia, we expect a good harvest of medium to large calibres.

Turkey
Turkey is expected to have a high availability of small calibre cherries. However, the country is still in an economic crisis (inflation), which has an impact on the price development of the products. Local producers are struggling with high costs due to the current crisis, but will be tied to growing competition from Greece, Spain and Italy when pricing their cherries.
The hard varieties will start at the end of week 20 with probably good qualities. The current rain in the growing regions is still good for the cherries at this stage.

May 2023