The U.S. cherry market has had an up-and-down decade in terms of production, with anywhere from 150-300 million pounds of tart cherries produced over the past decade, depending on the season.
MSU Extension Farm Business Management Educator Chris Bardenhagen presented at the Northwest Michigan Orchard & Vineyard show earlier this month, showcasing his research on the global tart cherry market and where the U.S. fits into a cloudy global picture.
“Tart cherry area harvest of the rest of the world hovers around 465,000 acres in 2013 to nearly 515,000 acres in 2022,” Bardenhagen said. “The line trend shows an additional 12 or 13% acreage over the past decade (430,0000 acres or more).”
The rest of the world produces roughly 3.2 billion pounds (3.4 with U.S.), although some numbers are certainly debated, according to Bardenhagen.
Turkey is down roughly 12% over the decade; however, yields are working up over time, going from 54,000 to roughly 48,000 since 2013 with 400,000 million pounds yearly.
The U.S. doesn’t have an exact acreage figure since 2018.
For Turkish sweets, there are over 80,000 hectares, compared to 20,000 for tarts. Peaches and nectarines are also big in the Eurasian country. Tarts are only 20% of the cherry portfolio for the Turks. Previously, the European Union, among others, was paying for 50% of processing facility development costs.
“This was part of the plan for Turkiye’s accession into the EU to develop infrastructures. The accession plan was suspended by the EU in 2019; these subsidies are no longer drivers,” Bardenhagen said.
Read more Thursday in the special cherry section in-print and online!
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