Harvest situation in the Southern Hemisphere, week 1, 2011

Cherries

The quality of the cherries in southern Chile was affected by rain on Dec. 11, which caused splitting in the fruit.  Exporters received lower-quality fruit.  Another problem facing growers is the lack of manpower, which has increased costs by about 15% because of the short duration of the harvest and workers moving on to other crops.

The cherry harvest is finishing in the region near Talca, with only isolated collection of late varieties.

In the region near Concepción, the harvest is 10% complete with the Sweet Heart variety, which has mixed sizes.

In the region near Coihaique, the harvest started with Bing at the end of week 1, will continue with Kordia in mid-January and will finish with Sweet Heart in late January, the end of cherry season in Chile.

Source: iQonsulting/www.freshfruitportal.com