Japan's fresh cherry production has been substantially impacted by a changing climate. Fresh cherry production in the 2024/25 marketing year (MY) is estimated to fall to 14,700 metric tons (MT) because of damage from high temperatures in the largest volume production region. FAS/Tokyo forecasts that decreased domestic production will result in increased US cherry imports to 5,600 MT for the 2024/25 MY. FAS/Tokyo forecasts Japan's peach production to remain relatively the same as the previous year. FAS/Tokyo also forecasts that US nectarine imports to Japan will remain relatively unchanged.
Crop production
Fresh cherries in Japan consist of three major yellow-cherry varieties: satonishiki, beni-shuhou, and beni-sayaka with around 70 percent, 20 percent, and 5 percent production, respectively. Satonishki has maintained the top position for a long time as the variety that is best known by Japanese consumers.
However, single variety cultivation carries the risk of overlapping harvest periods, straining the limited workforce. Thus, farmers try their best to mitigate the risk of labor shortages and corresponding harvest burden, while also working to extend the sales period as much as possible.
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Source: apps.fas.usda.gov
Japan's fresh cherry production in MY2024/25 estimated to fall to 14,700 tons (freshplaza.com)
