Australian Cherry Production; Quality or Quantity?

Australian Cherry Production; Quality or Quantity? Australia remains a relatively small producer of cherries, supporting only 0.5% of world production, despite increased production over the past ten years. The majority of the Australian cherries are supplied to domestic markets with less than 2000 tonnes exported in the 2009/10 season. Growers are focused both on increasing yield through increased productivity, and on increasing quality. Currently the major challenges for the Industry are labour prices, market access, domestic demand, competition from other southern hemisphere producers and climate. This presentation will provide an overview of the cherry producing regions in Australia and discuss the pros and cons of quality and quantity in Australian cherries.