YAKIMA, WA - Borton Fruit is gearing up for its Washington cherry season in the Tri-Cities/Pasco area on the Snake River, the lower Yakima Valley, and the Upper Yakima Valley. With harvest quickly approaching, Borton is putting the finishing touches on its updated cherry packing line.
“During the offseason we have updated our cherry packing line. For the 2015 season we will have fully computerized optical sizers, with the latest technology in color and defect sorting capability. Borton Fruit is continuing its commitment to be a premier packer of Northwest Cherries,” Eric Borton, VP of International Sales & Marketing, tells me. “With these updates to our packing equipment and technology, our state-of-the-art Rainier and Red Cherry packing lines give us a greater ability to deliver a consistent pack of outstanding quality cherries to our customers.”
Borton is slated to have premium Northwest cherries to market the last week in May, with light volume to start and building volume beginning in June. In addition to its Red Cherry program, Borton Fruit has a very strong Rainier Cherry program as well. Rainier Cherries are continuing to gain momentum and popularity with retailers and consumers, Eric notes.
Like most growers on the U.S. West Coast, Borton’s harvest is a bit ahead of schedule, with its Northwest cherry season running about 10-14 days ahead compared to last year.
“Based on the progression of the crop right now, it appears that there could be an overlap between California and NW cherry regions,” Eric continues. “There is a very active market right now for cherries. Demand is strong for the category and anticipation is high. As harvest moves from California into Washington, we should see the market stabilize as more supplies come on.”
As we previously reported, bloom timing was somewhat compressed and there was not as much separation between bloom in early, mid, and late districts as usual. This signals a crop that could be more compressed than the last couple cherry seasons.
So far Borton Fruit has not experienced any weather related issues that the company expects to affect the quality of the cherries overall. Weather events during harvest can have a big impact on quality, but at this point Borton appears to be in the clear.
Eric anticipates strong volumes on dark cherries through the complete month of June and carrying through mid-July. The company will also have promotional volume on Rainier Cherries by the second week of June through mid-July.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow the Northwest cherry season.
