Heavy volumes of U.S. Northwest cherries during the record 2017 season resulted in unattractive prices for much of the second half of the campaign.

A representative of industry body Northwest Cherry Growers said the domestic season had finished up in early September and was nearly finished in Asia.

A total of 26.4 million 20-pound boxes have been shipped during the campaign, he said.

Just under two-thirds of the crop was sold on the domestic market this year, with China becoming the leading export market for the first time.

International marketing director Keith Hu said overall the domestic season went 'pretty well', but a supply glut contributed to low price levels after larger volumes came on.

"We had challenges for sure. The industry had to push the FOB prices down to move the fruit," Hu told Fresh Fruit Portal.

He said in general the biggest challenge this year was not so much the large volume but the low sugar levels in much of the fruit.

The domestic season has been finished up for the last two or three weeks, but as of last week there were still ocean shipments reaching Chinese shores, according to the representative.

Average FOB cherry prices per 20-pound box in the U.S. market. Source: Agronometrics

"The market was challenging in the peak, when large supplies depressed prices," Domex Superfresh Growers communications manager Catherine Gipe-Stewart said.

"Retailers did commit to promoting heavily through the finish line, however, which helped movement, which was critical."

She noted July and August were warmer than normal in the U.S Northwest, slightly affecting Domex's harvest scheduling but not fruit quality.

"Fortunately, we’ve developed technologies to help mitigate heat, both in the orchard and on the packing line," she said.

"We continue to hear from retailers and consumers that the eating experience was superb this summer. Sizing was outstanding, as well."

Gipe-Stewart said the season ended up being 19 days later than the previous year.

"The good news is, good spring growing conditions and even distribution of bloom and pollination allowed us to deliver retailers a long selling season, through most of August," she said.

"We heard from many retailers that this had a positive impact on their sales."

Meanwhile, a representative of Auvil Fruit Company, whose cherry program wraps up before the second half of the Northwest season, said it had been a good campaign on all fronts.

"For us it was probably one of the best cherry years ever for the company - in terms of quality, the volume we’re able to produce, and pricing," sales and marketing director Ray Norwood said.

He said the company's cherry program fell into somewhat of a marketing 'sweet spot', whereby it tended to avoid the peak volumes.

"We’re not at the very beginning of the Washington cherry season, but we are earlier in the deal and we’re done before the fall-off in price and the glut of the volume really hits the market," he said.

Auvil Fruit typically exports around 85% of its crop, which is largely represented by the Rainier variety. Key export markets include China, Japan and Taiwan.

Norwood said the company has plans to expand its cherry plantings and volume, with much of the growth in newer varieties in great demand.

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