Stone fruit
Being the first Mediterranean country to reach the markets and standing out in terms of quality: the assets of Spanish cherries The acreage devoted to Spanish cherries has remained more or less stable, exceeding 28,000 hectares which yield an annual production of over 100,000 tons. Processes of varietal conversion in recent years, as well as investments in technology and greater know-how, have added more value to a product considered top of the fruit range. One of the motivations for this has been the greater competition, given the development of the production in many other countries, which is one of the sector’s many challenges. Mónica Tierno, General Manager of Agrupación de Cooperativas del Valle del Jerte, and Héctor Ripoll, partner of the producing and marketing company Cerima Cherries, both members of the National Cherry Board, make an analysis of the current situation of the Spanish cherry sector.
weather in recent seasons,” says Héctor Ripoll, producer partner of Cerima Cherries.
Cherries are a highly seasonal product, and as such, the production is limited to a few months in each producing area. The varietal renewal carried out in recent years has been making it possible to start earlier and finish later with products that are better adapted to consumer needs. “In the earliest areas, such as the Ebro Valley, Lleida or the Jerte Valley, the aim is to promote earliness, while in the later areas the aim is to extend the campaign as much as possible, avoiding the month of June, in which more fruit of different origins is e have observed that the most other producing areas, such as the Ebro available, both in Spain and in other counimportant cherry producing areas Valley, in Lleida or Aragon, there has been tries, such as Turkey, Greece, Italy and in Spain account for most of the area devo- a slight growing trend in recent years. In other Central European countries, such ted to cherry cultivation in the country. other areas, such as Albacete, growth is as Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the In the Jerte Valley, in Extremadura, the much slower. The same applies to Alican- United Kingdom, France, etc.,” says Héctor acreage remains rather stable, while in te, which has been hard hit by inclement Ripoll.
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AGF Primeur 4 • 2022
