In W18 in the cherry landscape, in Bergamo in Italy, the first spring fruits arrived, with bulk Spanish cherries priced at USD 15.82/kg. At the beginning of summer 2022, the European Commission and the European Parliament agreed to expand the Euro-2022 quotas for preferential supplies of Moldovan cherries from 1.5 to 3K MT. However, due to the decrease in the yield of many fruit crops as a result of the severe atmospheric drought last summer, even on irrigated plantations of perennial crops, preferential quotas were not fully filled for any of the Moldovan commodity items such as tomatoes, garlic, grapes, apples, cherries, plums and grape juice. The EC proposed on May 4th to extend the current suspension of import duties on Moldovan exports to the EU for another year and extend this suspension to all remaining tariffs and tariff quotas for Moldovan imports. This is a clear signal of the EU's full support for the Moldovan economy and helps to further alleviate the difficult situation faced by Moldovan growers and exporters due to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
Pakistani cherry exports to China are becoming closer to reality, with the signing of the bilateral phytosanitary protocol in November of 2022 and the reopening of the Khunjerab Pass, the only land route between the two countries, in April 2023. China intends to conduct compliance inspections of Pakistani orchards and cold storage facilities since it authorized the import of cherries from Gilgit-Baltistan and other regions of Pakistan. However, Pakistani fruit exporters assert that domestically grown cherries, particularly those from Gilgit-Baltistan, are juicier than average but also highly perishable, adding that they cannot be exported to China under the current phytosanitary requirements. The main issue is that before Pakistani cherries can enter China, they must be subjected to cold treatment, at a temperature of 0.56 degrees Celsius or lower for at least 18 consecutive days or a temperature of 1.67 degrees Celsius or lower for at least 22 consecutive days. Lastly, Portuguese cherry production in Fundão fell by 70% due to large fluctuations in temperature and heavy night frosts during flowering.
