US Northwest Cherries in Season With Excellent Quality

The harvest season for cherries from the U.S. Northwest typically runs from mid-June to early September each year. This year, the harvest began about 10 days earlier than in 2023, starting in early June, and it is now at its peak.

According to B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, this season’s cherries are well distributed throughout the tree canopy, with fewer large clusters than in 2023. The warm weather is boosting production, and this type of fruit set typically results in large, beautiful cherries with excellent shelf quality.

Northwest Cherry Growers is headquartered in Yakima, Washington, and represents more than 2,500 growers in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. According to the organization, the latest estimate for the 2024 Northwest dark sweet and yellow Rainier cherry crop is between 17 and 20 million boxes (20-pound equivalent), corresponding to approximately 154,000–181,000 metric tons. Although the Rainier crop is slightly below the five-year average of 1.7 million boxes, Northwest Cherry Growers anticipates a significant volume of yellow cherries from late June through July.

Owing to extreme cold weather in January of this year, orchards in higher-altitude regions are expected to experience a significant reduction in their late-season cherry yields. Overall, yields from early- and mid-season orchards have reached average levels, while late-season orchards have seen a decline in production.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.