The southern hemisphere cherry season is under way with early varieties out of Chile, but the ripening process in the next cultivars to come on stream is slower than average.
“From next week availability should start to get better,” said Mike Lloyd of importer Norton Folgate. “The weather has been fine out there - nothing too adverse, but we are seeing a lot places experiencing slower ripening this year.”
Norton Folgate supplies fruit from South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Australia from November until Christmas. Availability is then concentrated on Argentina and Chile post-Christmas with late season supplies coming in from New Zealand and Australia to complete the southern hemisphere deal.
“We are handling increasing volumes year-on-year, especially from Chile where new orchards are coming on stream to meet demand,” said Lloyd. Consumption in the UK is climbing and he reports that gaps in availability are closing. “October and March are really the only two gaps now and they are much shorter than they used to be,” he said.
Norton Folgate’s South African supplies are also growing, from new operations in the Free State. “We have small production in Bethlehem, but this has been growing over the last five-to-six years and they are really investing in modern technology,” said Lloyd.
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