Sep 29, 2015

CIAB releases 80 percent of the 2015 tart cherry crop

The Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB), the national marketing order for red tart cherries, recently determined the quantity of tart cherries that should be made available to the domestic market for the 2015/16 crop year: 80 percent.

The final 2015 crop was measured at 249.6 million pounds. The quality of the cherries was generally considered to be very good throughout the United States. The last production report was for the week ending Aug. 22, according to CIAB.

Each September, the board is charged with recommending to USDA’s Secretary of Agriculture the volume of cherries to make available to the domestic market and the volume to retain in inventory reserves as an offset to potential crop shortfalls. The tart cherries that are made available to the domestic market are deemed “free” cherries under the terms of the order. Those held off of the free market are referred to as “inventory reserves,” according to CIAB.

The determination regarding the quantity of tart cherries to make available for the domestic market and for the marketing reserves is done according to the Optimum Supply Formula. The outcome is a function of crop size, demand and other relevant factors. Such other factors can include market conditions, the circumstances leading up to the current harvest, the quality of the current crop, expected movement for cherries throughout the year, the impact of competing product and other components, according to CIAB.