"The season was later and longer, with excellent quality fruit which kept demand ahead of supply all season long – even during the peak weeks – there are some excellent varieties grown in the UK with the biggest demand coming for the delicious Kordia variety. This year we saw the very first staccato fruits from the trees, which are exclusive to Total Cherry in the UK & Ireland which show great promise for when the commercial production comes forward in the next few years."
As has been widely reported the Southern Hemisphere has suffered with the weather. The early Argentine region of Mendoza has lost around 80% of its crop, the Australians suffered from rain, and the Chileans are also having issues with frosts – which affected the early regions the most. Clark said that the only early fruit to enter the UK has been the baby (18-20mm) cherry from South Africa, but the cherries from here still have limited volumes as the domestic market is strong leaving little need for exports.
This week will see the start of the Chilean fruit arrive in the UK in limited volumes. This has been delayed by around 10 days.
"The increase in values will balance out the supply/demand in the early stages of the season in the UK," explains Clark. "For the later part we will see reasonable volumes which on paper will be enough – but the Chinese market will be the one that determines if there is enough fruit for the UK/Europe."
