Tru-Cape’s earliest-ever cherry season brings lower volumes but excellent fruit quality
Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing’s cherry season has started earlier than ever before, with the first fruit harvested and packed on 8 October – two to three weeks ahead of a typical season. However, the early start comes with a significant drop in production, with cherry volumes in the Ceres area expected to be more than 50% lower than last year.
The smaller crop is largely the result of challenging weather conditions during flowering, which affected pollination and fruit set. Despite the reduced volumes, the cherries are showing excellent quality, with fruit sizes up to 30 mm and high sugar levels indicating an exceptional eating experience.
“It’s a difficult season in terms of volumes,” says Calla du Toit, Procurement Director at Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing. “Many of the early cherries flowered during an exceptionally hot week at the end of August. We believe the heat shortened the effective pollination window, resulting in poor fruit set. The hot conditions were followed by cold weather, which may also have contributed to some cold damage.”
While the smaller crop is a setback for growers, the quality of the fruit offers some encouragement. Strong local demand, supported by reduced availability, is expected to underpin prices, with Tru-Cape anticipating slightly higher prices than last season.
“The cherries are looking beautiful, and we’re seeing sizes of up to 30 mm for the first time,” says du Toit. “The sugar levels are also very high, so we expect the eating quality to be excellent. Although we would naturally prefer a bigger crop, the smaller harvest means we can pay closer attention to picking each cherry at its optimal maturity, with sufficient labour available to do so.”
Advances in technology at one of Tru-Cape’s major packing facilities at Witzenberg Properties are also expected to contribute to improved fruit quality and consistency, helping to deliver cherries in optimal condition to consumers.
Focus on local retail, with export opportunities in sight
Tru-Cape will prioritise established retail programmes in the domestic market this season, where demand for cherries remains strong. Its retail partners include Food Lover’s Market and Freshmark, with Pick n Pay joining the programme for the first time.
Consumers can look out for Tru-Cape My Cherry on supermarket shelves, with cherries available in both traditional punnet packaging and modern Ziploc packaging.
Johan Brink, Tru-Cape’s sales director, says the company is also hoping to grow its export business.
“Last year, we exported about 15% of our cherry crop. This season, we hope to increase that to 20%, however, due to the smaller crop and strong local prices, export decisions will need to be carefully weighed against the risks and costs involved.”
Cherries for the festive season
Despite the lower volumes, Tru-Cape expects its cherries to remain available on retail shelves during the festive season.
For Tru-Cape, the season is a reminder of how strongly weather can influence cherry production. While the earliest-ever harvest offers an opportunity to bring fresh cherries to market sooner, the challenge this year will be to make the most of a smaller crop by prioritising quality, carefully managed harvesting, and strong retail partnerships.
For more information, please contact Lucille Botha at lucilleb@tru-cape.co.za or visit www.tru-cape.com. Follow Tru-Cape on X (@TruCapeFruit), Facebook (@Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing), TikTok (@trucape), and Instagram (@trucapefruit).
ENDS
