The Pacific Northwest cherry harvest in Washington, Utah, Oregon, Idaho and Montana began bravely early June 2024 with high yields.
Farmers are already reporting strong volumes of high-quality cherries as a result of fair weather during the spring-growing phase.
The regional harvest organizer, Northwest Cherries, predicts an output of 17 to 18 million 20-pound boxes of cherries.
Sweet Cherries’ Capital
Almost all this output from the 2024 Northwest cherry harvest will be sweet and yellow cherries. Given the current positive outlook, some bold forecasts are putting the sweet and yellow cherry margins even higher at 20 million boxes.
The American Northwest dominates the national sweet cherry production. It accounted for 67% of the total output and 71% of national exports, per 2023 figures.
Indeed, only Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oregon and neighboring California export sweet cherries in all of the United States.
The California season most often ends earlier than that of the Pacific Northwest, and helps ensure smooth price transition.
Volume-centric Northwest Cherry Harvest
Cherry production in this region banks much on volumes so as to compare between yearly performances.
Production in 2023, for instance, garnered 18,742,834 (20-pound) boxes, up from 13,277,332 boxes in 2022. However, this output was still less than that of the 2014-2021 years, each of which had over 19 million boxes.
This means that if the current estimate of 20 million boxes materializes, the region will recapture its average top volumes.
Northwest Cherries forecasts that the yellow cherry output will increase gradually end June through early July. This is even as late July volumes fall in some places due to the 2023-24 winter chill that affected fruition.
Ultimately, the Pacific Northwest’s cherry industry continues to lead the region’s fresh fruit category, with a yearly average revenue of $239 million. As the following data reveals, sweet cherries from northwest United States are a bankable industry.
Cherry Statistics in the United States
Cherry production in the United States is concentrated in Washington, Oregon, Michigan and California. In 2023, the United States produced 354,300 tonnes of sweet cherries against an estimate of 371,000 tonnes while tart cherries reached 197.2 million pounds (89,636 tonnes) against an estimate of 203 million pounds (92,272 tonnes).
Which states lead in sweet and tart cherry production?
Washington produced 208,000 tonnes of sweet cherries, the highest nationally in 2023. California and Oregon finished second and third in the list. Key sources included the temperate Yakima Valley in Washington, the cherry-favorable Central Valley in California and the mild Willamette Valley in Oregon. Michigan, on the other hand, led tart cherry production at 130.6 million pounds (59,363 tonnes), ahead of Utah.
How much revenue do cherries bring the Pacific Northwest?
In 2023, the Pacific Northwest earned $697,758,518 from the cherry industry, $235,369,040 of which came from exports. 2023’s total revenue was lower than 2022’s $899,046,936 but higher than 2022’s export revenue at $204,762,923.