- A stellar growing season means the price of cherries has dropped by at least $4
- This means that there will be a larger selection of better quality and cheaper fruit
It’s not an Australian Christmas without a bowl of cold cherries somewhere on the table – but they don’t usually come cheap.
But thanks to a stellar growing season and a decent winter chill, the industry is on track to produce around 18,000 tonnes of cherries in time for Christmas.
The usual output is only 15,000 tonnes, meaning that Australians will pay less money for better quality cherries this December.
Aussies will pay less money for better quality cherries this year thanks to a bumper season
Last summer, the cherry industry was plagued by a poor growing season – low yields pushed up prices to more than $20 per kilogram.
But this year, 9NEWS reported that there are so many cherries that the industry is struggling to find enough workers to pick all the fruit.
The cost is expected to drop by as much as 20 per cent as the season progresses, pushing prices down to around $16 per kilogram.
Coupled with the fact that the ‘perfect season’ produced higher-quality fruit than average, Aussies will be able to bake as many cherry pavlovas as they want.
Tom Eastlake, the president of the Cherry Growers of Australia, advises shoppers to choose a cherry with a ‘green stem, firm flesh and consistent colour’.
The cost of cherries this summer is expected to drop from over $20 per kilogram to under $16