The long awaited loadings of cherry from the Pacific Northwest get underway this week from the Tri-Cities area in Washington state. Initial volume will be with Chelans, with the more popular Bing variety coming about a week later.
Unlike California cherry shipments, where volume was down this season, the Northwest should experience a significant increase in cherry loadings. Total cherry shipments, mostly out of Washington state, should hit 20 million boxes, up from only 13 million boxes last year.
Washington state typically accounts for about 75 percent of the cherry shipments out of the Northwest, with most of the volume coming out of the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys. However, it is the Tri-City area where initial loadings occur as it spreads to the southern Columbia Basin and the lower Yakima Valley within the next week or so.