From late spring onwards, attention in the fresh produce sphere starts to turn to one of the world?s oldest cultivated fruits ? the cherry. And as the US crop begins to blossom, it is the sunny climes of its most westerly state that provide the UK with its much-anticipated first supplies.

Long regarded as a luxury crop, the penetration of fresh cherries into the market is increasing year-on-year. And of all the fruit on the Californian cherry trees, the Bing variety is regarded as the pick of the crop ? widely favoured for its unique characteristics. Says Hurst Parnell?s fruit purchase manager, Julian Scott: ?The Bing cherry has a dark outer. It?s very fleshy with a small stone ? and very sweet. It?s a premium variety and certainly well received in the UK.?

Bing cherries account for the bulk of California?s sendings, and as the state?s main line, the season continues usually into June ? when exporters find themselves up against competition from the European crop. This year is forecast to be strong for Bing with an expected increase in volume. Norton Folgate?s director Matt Hancock confirms: ?The overall crop in California is very similar to that of 2002. However the Bing portion will slightly increase in volume and the Brooks & Tulares volume will decrease slightly. The difference in the early varieties will be due to the marginal chill during the winter months. That said, the fruit quality is projected to exceed that of last year?s crop.?

Good news then for fans of this premium large-sized cherry of which the UK prefers the 12R lgr and 11R lgr sizes. But cherries are one of the most difficult fruits to grow and Californian produce has not been without its problems. Hancock continues: ?Low chill hours in the southern valley will result in a decrease in production. Additionally, recent cool and wet weather have delayed our projected start dates but will not affect peak periods.?

Weather conditions aside, California producers are facing other difficulties, of which the increasing cost of labour is a pressing concern. Hancock continues: ?A major issue facing California cherry growers is controlling the labour inputs in production of the crop. There is increasing pressure to increase the costs of labour and provide higher wages to the field workers. This has forced growers to evaluate the various methods of labour inputs into the production of the crop. As a result, growers have strived to use labour as efficiently as possible while maintaining the quality of California cherry production. The trade-off threatens the quality of production or an increase in the overall cost of production. This is a two tiered expense because of the labour intensive nature of farming the crop and the additional labour involved in sorting and packing the cherries.?

Whatever production difficulties there might be with this year?s Californian Bing cherry crop, there should be no shortage of demand. Bing has become the focus of a new promotional programme, undertaken by the California Cherry Advisory Board. It is a campaign specifically designed to increase fruit trade awareness of the cherry?s unique qualities and appearance in the UK.

With the crop due to be harvested at the end of May, Neil Gordon ceo of NMG Consulting, is responsible for UK promotions. Gordon tells the Journal: ?This is the third year we have been promoting California Bing cherries and we are concentrating on getting our healthy, quality cherry message across to fresh fruit retailers, particularly multiple grocers. We have created a bank of digital images which provides retailers with a terrific choice of material for in-store promotion, demonstrations and tastings.?

To further aid promotions a range of point of sales material available to retailers has been produced. This includes compact discs of cherry images and serving suggestions and in-store point of sale material such as posters and information leaflets and aprons for demonstrators.

But consumers shouldn?t need too much persuading of the distinct qualities of Californian produce. According to Hancock, these cherries have a unique balance of sugar and acid which gives the fruit its distinctive taste. And flavour aside, the current attention being paid to the nutritional benefits of fresh produce, combined with the launch of the government?s 5-a-day should also benefit the cherry campaign, particularly since cherries contain a wealth of nutritional benefits.

Known for medicinal properties since Roman times cherries were once eaten for their diuretic and laxative effect and increasing evidence points to the fact that cherries have many more positive health benefits.

Significantly it has been discovered that they are rich in anti-oxidants which help fight against cancer and are also known to relieve inflammation, and the pain of inflammation and can even help to protect artery walls from damage leading to cardiovascular disease.

All this can be achieved by eating just 20 cherries a day which provides 25mg of anthocyanins, a natural colourant also known as the magical flavonoid found in the dark red pigment of the skins, a substance that works in a similar way to aspirin.

As part of their nutritional make-up, cherries also contain a considerable amount of melatonin which is known to re-establish a natural sleeping pattern and he most important vitamin present is C for maintaining a healthy immune system and for helping wounds to heal quickly. B vitamins are also in evidence to maintain cells, and the smooth functioning of the nervous system, while vitamin A is available to help protect normal vision. Reason enough to buy cherries, you would think, but when it comes to California cherries, the incentives continue. Hancock concludes: ?The California industry is leading the world in food safety issues as well as technological advances in growing, packing and shelf-life longevity. Our cool nights and moderate daytime temperatures produce an unmatched cherry.?

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