This year, the mass export of sweet cherries from Uzbekistan began in the first ten days of May. As previously reported by EastFruit, the season opened with strong demand for Uzbek sweet cherries on international markets. The main reason: a poor stone fruit harvest in Eastern European countries and Turkey, severely impacted by April frosts.
In contrast, weather conditions in Uzbekistan during the winter and early spring were favorable for the development of stone fruit crops., EastFruit writes. According to experts, the sweet cherry harvest this season will significantly exceed the volumes of recent years. However, despite the overall increase in production, the share of large-caliber cherries in this year’s crop is relatively low.
“We are currently harvesting mid-season cherry varieties. Despite a generally good yield, the volume of large-caliber sweet cherries available for export is very limited. Assembling large export consignments of this grade has become quite a challenge this season. Add to that the strong demand for Uzbek cherries due to poor harvests in Turkey and parts of Europe, and we’re seeing very high procurement prices for large-caliber cherries. At the moment, local traders are selling cherries of 26+ caliber to exporters at prices reaching up to 60,000 UZS/kg (approximately $4.70),” says Yorqin Inamov, head of the export company Fergana EximAgro LLC.
Also read: Cherry Rush: Belarusian and Russian Traders Flock to Uzbekistan
According to Farrukh Abdukhalimov, a representative of the Spanish breeding company PSB Produccion Vegetal in Uzbekistan, the growing period for mid-season cherry varieties was shorter than usual this year, which negatively affected fruit size:
“In the third decade of April and the first half of May, Uzbekistan experienced abnormally high temperatures for that time of year, which significantly accelerated the ripening of stone fruits. In the case of sweet cherries, this had a negative effect on fruit quality. The shortening of the growing period—especially during the stage when cherries typically increase in size—has resulted in a relatively low share of large-caliber cherries in mid-season varieties. This season, the average fruit size in these varieties is around 24 mm, compared to 26 mm in previous years,” the expert explains.
According to Abdukhalimov, the Fergana Valley is considered the earliest region for sweet cherry harvesting in Uzbekistan, and the harvest there is already coming to an end. Active harvesting is now underway in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions.
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