A combination of ideal weather conditions through bloom and the post-bloom periods, as well as new production coming on, has resulted in an estimated 12 million pound BC Tree Fruits cherry crop this season.
Consumers will start seeing Okanagan cherries from the orchards of BC Tree Fruits in stores starting the end of June and with the anticipated record crop, there will be plenty of juicy and sweet cherries for all to enjoy over the warm summer months.
“Mother nature served our growing regions with ideal weather conditions through bloom into the post-bloom period, which has resulted in a lot of fruit on the trees,” said BC Tree Fruits marketing manager Chris Pollock. “Our growers are excited and prepared for great summer fruits crop this year with harvest starting end of June for cherries in the south, with the fruit hitting retail shelves very soon after.”
The 12 million pounds of BC Tree Fruits cherries estimated for this season matches the estimate from last season — although the crop in 2017 came in short of the initial estimate at 10.1 million pounds due to weather challenges across the region.
In addition to cherries, BC Tree Fruits is anticipating a very good peach, nectarine, prune, plum and table grape crop with volumes either slightly up or similar to last year.
The primary market for BC Tree Fruits summer fruits remains Western Canada. BC Tree Fruits also continues to export increased volumes of cherries to the United States and key export markets.
The BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is comprised of more than 430 local grower families who grow a variety of tree fruit commodities including apples, cherries, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, prunes, plums and grapes.
