Why are bing sweet cherries so expensive?

[sixdogs]

How come bing cherries are so expensive? Is it the labor of hand picking, a bad crop, wages in the Northwest where I figure they come from or something I don't know about? I can't figure it out. Any ideas?

 

[randy41]

whats the price?

 

[Bird]

I do love Bing cherries, but haven't seen any in the stores yet this year. And the Rainier cherries are even better tasting, but always more expensive than the Bings. Has that changed?

 

[charlz]

I don't know how cherry orchards get a crop at all... as soon as mine start to turn even slightly red the birds, squirrels etc start cleaning them out. If I didn't net a tree I wouldn't get any at all. Even the cheap bird netting gets expensive since it snags and is impossible to fold back up so you have to buy new each season. Year before last I spent $250 on a huge piece of shade cloth (so much for 'free' cherries ) in hopes it will last more than one season. Then last year none of my trees put on enough cherries to justify the time to put the cloth on.

I have thought about planting some Rainier's since their ripe color is about the stage my Bing's can get to before the animals start cleaning them out.

 

[sixdogs]

whats the price?

It's $6 to $8 a pound. I bought 2 lbs for nearly $12 today at Costco and saw some earlier in the week at a grocery store for $7.99 lb.
That's pretty pricey and I noticed the same thing last year. What's up?

 

[jimpen]

I had a friend who worked at cherry picking one year. The commercial places apparently have device they hook to the tree and it shakes them loose into a catcher net. It takes about 10 minutes per tree.

 

[Pete Judd]

Mine are always ripe around the 15th of July. On the east side of the cascades, a few weeks sooner. Not the peak season yet wait a couple of weeks.

 

[charlz]

Mine are usually ready end of June. A valley north of there already has ripe cherries. Supply might be a reason, I know a lot of apple and other fruit orchards have been taken out here because it is cheaper to grow it in China and ship it to the U.S. Prime areas to grow fruit are also prime areas to build houses....

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Because they are so good?

Locally at WM they are $7 currently.

Now I have to go grab a hand full before bedtime.

 

[mriderrw]

I am amazed in what I am hearing. Please do not think the farmer is see that kinda returns. I personally deliver are early cherries to different places in the area and charge between 1.50 to 3.00 a pound. today we were told we could start are Bing harvest Wed. I expect are returns will be somewhere in the middle of that. By the way anybody wants to buy a few tons I will be more then happy to sell you them at that price

 

[randy41]

It's $6 to $8 a pound. I bought 2 lbs for nearly $12 today at Costco and saw some earlier in the week at a grocery store for $7.99 lb.
That's pretty pricey and I noticed the same thing last year. What's up?

that is a lot. when i occasionally get a crop of cherries from my trees i would sell them at the farmers market for $8/qt. didn't get any cherries this year. farmers market prices are usually more than regular store prices.

 

[sixdogs]

I know the farmer's not getting the $$. That's a given. As Ronald Reagan said, they're the only business that buys at retail, sells at wholesale and pays the freight both ways.

But didn't sweet cherries used to be $1.79 a lb? And now they're $5- to $7 a lb?

 

[Bird]

farmers market prices are usually more than regular store prices.

Yep, the prices are higher, the produce may not look as smooth, clean, and uniform in size and shape, but it tastes better, at least with such things as tomatoes. I spent $19 right quickly at our local farmers market Saturday for a few tomatoes, white and yellow squash, and purple hull peas.:laughing:

 

[dave1949]

I am amazed in what I am hearing. Please do not think the farmer is see that kinda returns. I personally deliver are early cherries to different places in the area and charge between 1.50 to 3.00 a pound. today we were told we could start are Bing harvest Wed. I expect are returns will be somewhere in the middle of that. By the way anybody wants to buy a few tons I will be more then happy to sell you them at that price

That's interesting. I'm pretty sure if the wife and I bought a ton of cherries in WA, she could eat at least half of them before we got back to Maine. :laughing:

Wish you good luck with your harvest.

 

[flusher]

Supply and demand?

That's why I have four dwarf cherry trees as part of my landscaping design. Good tasting cherries (ask the birds--they get their share).

Grapes are also expensive, which is why I have a small vineyard with a dozen 8 year old California concord vines (table grapes, not for wine making).

I like almonds which I get in abundance from about two dozen old overgrown sweet almond trees on my place (the remnants of an old orchard that was planted over 70 years ago according to my neighbor who helped with the planting when he was in grade school). I pick the low hanging fruit--the blackbirds take care of the rest.

Good luck.

 

[Bird]

That's interesting. I'm pretty sure if the wife and I bought a ton of cherries in WA, she could eat at least half of them before we got back to Maine. :laughing:

Wish you good luck with your harvest.

The last time we passed through the state of Washington, (1991), I stopped and got a bag of cherries at a roadside stand. I think it was 5 pounds and they were all eaten before the day was over.:laughing:

 

[dave1949]

The last time we passed through the state of Washington, (1991), I stopped and got a bag of cherries at a roadside stand. I think it was 5 pounds and they were all eaten before the day was over.:laughing:

Yeah, you can't eat just one, or 20 or 30 or ... They are like candy.

 

[DFB]

Simple supply and demand is more like it. Early crops out of Cali were poor and caused prices to go up. Better crops from the Northwest are expected to drive prices down.

And a lot of the market's cherries are grown in Chile too

Bigger crops, promotable prices expected - The Packer

Bigger crops, promotable prices expected - The Packer

 

[fbagg]

Here in California we have approximately 700 acres of cherries at our ranch, it was a horrible year for the bloom probably because of a marginal winter. So yield was down 75% from last year and that means the demand is there but not the supply, so market price is up because everyone wants them but they are not on the tree.

 

[forgeblast]

2 lbs of cherry's, I think I ate that one time, then couldn't get off the couch my stomach hurt so bad...but they tasted so good