Alfa Fruit Packers located in Qixia, Shangdong Province, China is expecting a delayed cherry season this year. This is due to an abnormally long and cold winter, which froze some of the early cherry blooms.
The cherry season normally starts May 1st with cherries from the greenhouses which last for the month of May. These cherries represent between 10-20% of the total production. The outdoor cherries are normally ready for harvest around June 1st and continue till the beginning of July.
Due to the long cold winter this year Steve Leung, from Alfa Fruit Packers expects a delay of about 2 weeks compared to last year. Initial estimates suggest the volume will be reduced by 40%.
Alfa Fruit Packers will begin harvesting the early varieties Rainier and Bing then continue with the later varieties such as Lapins.
Mr Leung Managing Director at Alfa Fruit Packers says that due to the reduced volumes he expects prices to be a lot higher than last year.
Very little cherries are exported by Alfa Fruit Packers because there are very few large cherries available for the export market. Mr Leung also says that "there is no infrastructure such as a hydro cooler, cold storage at the airport and the domestic airline is not capable of handling fresh and highly perishable products like cherries."
Mr Leung does not expect to export cherries in the next few years due to the above problems and also the high domestic demand. China imports cherries from the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Contact:
Steve Leung
Alfa Fruit Packers Limited
Tel: 86 535 538 3888
Email: alfafruit@gmail.com
The cherry season normally starts May 1st with cherries from the greenhouses which last for the month of May. These cherries represent between 10-20% of the total production. The outdoor cherries are normally ready for harvest around June 1st and continue till the beginning of July.
Due to the long cold winter this year Steve Leung, from Alfa Fruit Packers expects a delay of about 2 weeks compared to last year. Initial estimates suggest the volume will be reduced by 40%.
Alfa Fruit Packers will begin harvesting the early varieties Rainier and Bing then continue with the later varieties such as Lapins.
Mr Leung Managing Director at Alfa Fruit Packers says that due to the reduced volumes he expects prices to be a lot higher than last year.
Very little cherries are exported by Alfa Fruit Packers because there are very few large cherries available for the export market. Mr Leung also says that "there is no infrastructure such as a hydro cooler, cold storage at the airport and the domestic airline is not capable of handling fresh and highly perishable products like cherries."
Mr Leung does not expect to export cherries in the next few years due to the above problems and also the high domestic demand. China imports cherries from the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Contact:
Steve Leung
Alfa Fruit Packers Limited
Tel: 86 535 538 3888
Email: alfafruit@gmail.com
