Within Blairgowrie, Perthshire, the fruit harvest has begun through the third week of McIntyre Fruit. The farm has started to pick cherries to be used by Thomas Thomson, a neighbouring farm with which they operate together in a joint venture. McIntyre offers the labor and then packs the fruits.

Matthew McIntyre, Director at McIntyre Fruit, will start by harvesting his farm this week. The primary crop is around 40-50%. Some varieties had a huge fall in the fruit during June, however, some varieties are producing normal quantities.

“The fruits we’ve left is looking great, and we’re hoping it will stay cool until the time of harvest. One advantage that a crop with fewer hectares is the large, solid fruit that is evenly distributed among the trees. We will begin season next week it is expected to see a large demand for the fruit, since the quantity of fruit on the market will drop dramatically after the English fruit is finished. The fruit isn’t imported from Canada in the current year.”

A majority of Matt’s cherries are offered through Driscoll’s which then sell directly to retailers, as well as selected wholesalers.

“We have discussions on the table since cherries were always considered to be the same as soft fruits like strawberries, however they’re completely different. Strawberry is an annual harvest and have a much higher degree of reliability than cherries. As we’ve observed in recent seasons, you could get a regular crop, or be able to, as we’ve seen this year, experience a 50percent fruit loss because of the fault of no one else. There is a need to speak with retailers regarding this. They are also an enormous investment, with the trees able to produce the fruit for up to fifteen years. There are also different varieties that are available, which we are examining However, many of our trees are just about half-way through their life span. The process is still in the process of becoming a better person as we’ve grown cherries for twelve years, which is not a lot at all.

“We are able to offer two last Cerasina kinds that have a decent harvest this year. It is much more balanced than the previous year. They will be harvested from between late August and mid-September. First commercial harvest from the trees occurred about two years ago.”

Driscoll’s are experimenting with exports in order to achieve more profit. “For our company it’s beneficial to partner with a large business that can handle issues at both ends. when you consider other nations like Chile as an example, they’ve got vast networks in the supply chain. The biggest costs we incur when providing our UK retailers is transportation and packaging.

Expert pickers

The lower crop this year resulted in less demand pickers. Matt is able to procure all the work from a grower of cherries in Kent that has pickeders who are from Chile. They pick their cherries in Chile and then travel to Kent to harvest the cherry in Kent before moving up north to begin to begin the Scottish season. They have a lot of experience picking and will be at the pace when they arrive.

“They are able to pick between 400 and 500kg every day. This means we require lesser people to pick. There are 50 employees to manage the packing and picking. Additionally, we have our grader, which has done a fantastic job of separating different colors of the fruit. We continue to learn regarding storing and grading fruit. The dark fruit is what retailers are looking for right now and smaller, more firm fruit offers superior storage qualities and could be utilized to export. There will be a tiny amount of fruits for export in the coming season. The amount will depend on the cost.”

More information is available here:

Matthew McIntyre

McIntyre Fruit Ltd

Tel: +44(0)7713106784

[email protected]

www.mcintyrefruit.co.uk