Production of cherries in California has doubled in the last five years, and the UK market is seeing the benefit, Mike Rucier of the Californian Cherry Advisory Board told FPJ.
Last year brought record volume sales and record high retail prices for the state’s six-million carton crop, both in the US and in UK supermarkets. The increased buying power of consumers and a realisation that a higher price ticket would not damage sales of an in-demand product are both encouraging signs for producers.
Interestingly, it was perhaps the strength of the domestic market for Californian growers that gave UK sales a fillip. “For years, prices have routinely been dropped low for promotions - in the US, cherries were often sold as a loss leader, but now there is recognition that there is no need to do that,” said Rucier. “Likewise, in the UK, we saw prices for Californian cherries as high as £3.49 a lb at peak times last season, which has a significant effect on returns to growers. US cherries are a premium product, but they haven’t always been treated as such.”
A decimated Spanish cherry crop and the exchange rate also came into the equation to bolster prices on UK shores. “Rather than the large fluctuations in prices, what we would like to see is a flatter price structure for cherries spread over a longer period, to encourage repeat purchase and create a healthier market,” Rucier said.
Last season’s 23m carton crop in the US will not necessarily be followed by a low-volume year, he said, although it is as yet too early to make bold predictions. There has been plenty of rain at the right times in California though, and chill hours have reached the necessary levels. “You might expect a smaller crop after a record year, but the industry is just growing more,” said Rucier.
The UK performed well in 2007, but overall, the strength of the domestic market led to the lowest proportion of the crop going to export customers. “The feeling is we have far from saturated the US market,” he said. “But growers everywhere have to be looking to open up new markets.”
