In the EU, cherries are grown on a total area of 152.0 thousand hectares. The largest producers of these fruits are Poland, Italy and Spain, followed by Greece, Hungary and Germany.
For its part, Poland, which is the largest producer, processes about 75% of its total production; meanwhile, Spain is the largest exporter and Italians are the biggest consumers.
According to the latest USDA report, the European Union is expected to harvest 656.5 thousand tonnes of cherries in the 2016/2017 campaign, almost 11% less than in the previous season. The EU’s total consumption was estimated at about 378 thousand tonnes.
Average annual consumption of cherries in all EU countries is approximately 2.2 kg/person. In the case of trade with third countries, the countries of the EU are net exporters of stonefruit. In the previous season, the volume of imports reached about 36.7 thousand tonnes, while the volume exported totalled about 47.6 thousand tonnes.
These shipments are made primarily to Belarus, with more than 27.5 thousand tonnes, Moldova, with 8.2 thousand tonnes, and Switzerland. Fruit from third countries was imported mainly from Turkey (28.3 thousand tonnes), Chile and Serbia.
Source: Freshplaza
