All predictions pointed to a successful season for this year’s Washington cherry crop when BJ Thurlby, president of the Northwest Cherry Growers (an association of growers from Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho) put the harvest at 111,000 tonnes. Although volumes will undoubtedly remain high, rain has put a dampener on previous expectations that have been revised downwards in light of the wet weather.
“We had some terrible rain and hail three weeks ago that damaged hundreds of acres of fruit,” says Mark Holtzinger, president of CM Holtzinger Fruit Co. “That fruit is cleaning up now and the better fruit is starting to get picked. We have a high pressure system settling in the area and so the cherries should get better as the days go by.”
The Washington cherry harvest has begun at a similar time to last year, says Chris Sims, managing director at JO Sims, UK agent for Stemilt. “We thought it would be earlier than last year but because the weather has cooled, that has not been the case. Rain in the second week of June upset picking for a week with the consequence of a loss of volume. The crop will still be large but it will not be a big as originally thought.”
Estimates vary, but it is generally thought that Northwest cherries make up around 65 per cent of the sweet cherries produced in the US overall. In recent years Northwest cherry growers have invested a great deal of time and effort into extending the season - with some success. Later varieties such as Lapins, Sweetheart and Skeena are now harvested well into August. “Everyone has tried to extend the season with new plantings in later areas and in higher elevations in different areas,” says Sims. “The new varieties are coming out of Summerland, a research station in British Columbia.”
Northwest cherries as a whole are also doing well. “Last year in British Columbia production was substantially down, so this year there has been a significant volume increase,” says Sims. “Harvesting in this area starts on July 25 and although growers suffered the same bout of bad weather that affected Washington cherries three weeks ago, it came at a later stage in the cherries development so the crop was not as badly affected.”
Last year saw a record crop for Washington cherry growers with production of nine million boxes. Washington has a climate ideally suited for cherry growing - a factor which has been instrumental in the region’s success. Cherries are a particularly sensitive fruit and thrive in areas that have the right mix of warm, sunny days, cooler nights and nutrient-rich, volcanic soil. The states of Idaho, Utah, Washington and Oregon all offer these growing conditions. Many of the orchards lie in the shadow of mountain ranges and are irrigated with fresh mountain water.
Washington cherry growers also have an extensive portfolio of cherries to choose from. The sweet, dark varieties are Bing, Lambert, Sweetheart, Lapins and Chelan. Of these, Bing is the most well known and was first developed in 1874 in Milwaukie, Oregon. The main yellow-fleshed variety is Rainier, developed by crossing Van and Bing. In addition, Washington also produces a cherry that, like Spanish Picota, is stalkless as its stem remains on the tree when picked. The fruit remain on the trees longer than other cherries and is recognised for being sweeter and larger in size.
Another area that is steadily growing in importance is organic produce. In 2003 Washington cherry growers recorded their best-ever year with production of 2,000t.
Not only is cherry production enjoying success, consumption of this increasingly popular fruit is also on the up and on a global basis, and says Sims, demand has risen astronomically. “Cherries are considered much more interesting now than they once were and the fact that they are one of the few seasonal products left is also very much in their favour,” he says. “There was a time when US supermarkets thought that they had to discount prices in order to get rid of them, but now that is far from the case.”
Aside from their unique taste, cherries are becoming increasingly recognised for their nutritional qualities and Northwest sweet cherries in particular are rich in the flavonoid quercetin. This is also found in large amounts of apples and onions and works as a strong antioxidant. It is thought to have a role in reducing the risk of heart attacks. The dark red colour of Northwest sweet cherries is contributed by different phytochemicals - pigments called anthocyanins. These pigments are also powerful antioxidants and are believed to contribute to protection against cancer and heart disease.
Although Canada, Taiwan and Japan are the main export markets, the UK also plays an important role in the export calendar. CM Holtzinger Fruit Company packs under two main labels and works with Morrisons. Aside from its Royal Purple label the company has partnered with The Sholl Group II Inc, the Minnesota-based marketer of selected Green Giant Fresh produce products to pack Washington cherries, apples, pears in the Green Giant Fresh label.
Apples and pears were available from autumn last year, but 2004 sees cherries under the label for the first time. “Our Green Giant programme was started last year and has been an exciting new branding opportunity,” says Holtzinger. “The Green Giant® Fresh brand is universally recognisable and held in high regard by these consumers. We can now give our retailers a means by which to assure their shoppers of quality. As a true partner in the Green Giant® Fresh programme we are excited about the long-term potential.”
From a global perspective the US is at the forefront of sweet cherry production, and growers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah had been selling their fruit for more than 100 years before they officially created the Northwest Cherry Growers in 1966.
Last year a nursery survey was carried out for the Washington State Fruit Commission by James B Fitch & Marshall, the results of which have now been published. Its analysis indicates that sales of trees in Washington and California have increased during most of the period 1993-2004, and that annual sales at the time of the survey were up more than 50 per cent from their levels at the time of the 1999 survey.
While previous nursery surveys have tracked the use of new cherry varieties introduced both to expand the choices available to consumers and to expand the harvesting and marketing season, results show that Washington and California growers have continued to plant new varieties including some that ripen earlier than Bing (Chelan and Tieton), and others that ripen later (Lapins, Sweetheart and Skeena). This reflects the desire to spread out both the harvest and the marketing season. It also seems that California growers have continued to plant a higher proportion of Bing than Washington growers.
In the first survey conducted in 1994, 83 per cent of California nursery sales were reported to be Bing, while in both the 1999 and 2003 surveys, California nurseries reported that about 40 per cent of their sales were of Bing. To contrast this, Washington nurseries reported only 40 per cent of Bing sales in 1994. This dropped to 24 per cent in 1999 and to just 11 per cent in 2003. Washington growers appear to be diversifying their varietal mix more than those in California and Washington growers appear to be going mainly for the later varieties, with 37 per cent of nursery sales attributed to the Lapins, Sweetheart and Skeena in 1999, and 44 per cent of sales in these three varieties in 2003. Only 10 per cent of Washington nursery sales were of the earlier Tieton and Chelan varieties in the 1999, and these varieties accounted for just 14 per cent of sales in 2003.
Other varieties include significant numbers of the Brooks and Tulare varieties that are considered early varieties.
The 2003 survey shows that growers are increasingly investing in new varieties that can extend the season at both ends thereby helping to extend the harvesting and marketing period. Marketing the Washington crop still poses a challenge, says the report, because of the predominance of Bing and the peak in harvest and shipments that results from that.
The heavy overlap in shipments of Washington and California cherries continues to cause difficulties, although if California growers continue to plant early varieties, and Washington growers concentrate on later varieties, the problem with overlapping shipments should be reduced.
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