Spanish Pictota cherry producers are confident of achieving one of their strongest ever export seasons, with sales expected to increase by up to a third in key markets.
According to Picota cherry producers in Extremadura’s Jerte Valley, demand has been high since the season began at the end of June, putting them on target to reach record final export figures of as much as 1,500 tonnes.
This is approximately a third more than the previous high that was set during last year’s bumper season, when around 1,020 tonnes of the fruit was sold across Britain, with one supermarket chain reporting a 400 per cent year-on-year increases in the volumes sold on the previous year.
The sector expects to produce around 4,500 tonnes of cherries this campaign, around 50 per cent of which – close to 2,250 tonnes – will be exported to Germany and the UK.
Tino González, export manager of Agrupación of Cooperativas Valle del Jerte, one of the cooperatives supplying the UK with Picota cherries, said: 'We have enjoyed a veryhigh level of orders for Picota cherries from retailers in the UK this season.
“We havesold 1,000 tonnes of Picota already, and if the crop allows it and the demand remains high, we may well have sold around 1,500 tonnes.'
The Spanish government’s UK food marketing organisation Foods from Spain is supporting the fruit with a number of promotions, including shopper tasting sessions, on-pack competitions and offers, as well as point-of-sale and website advertising.
This year’s results are particularly encouraging as the Picota crop arrived 15 days later than during a normal campaign, as a result of unseasonably wet and cold weather in the Jerte Valley.
The Picota season runs from mid-June through July and begins with the Ambrunés variety, which accounts for 70 per cent of the total Picota crop, followed by the later varieties of Pico Negro, Pico Colorado and Limón Negro.
The producer groups participating in the campaign are the Agrupación de Cooperativas Valle del Jerte, the Cooperativa del Campo Navaconcejo and Grupo Alba.
