Operational Group for the Economic Valorisation and Marketing of Cherries

The cherry sub-sector has real export potential, since international markets offer a ready consumer for the fruit. However, given the particular care its handling demands, exporting requires good-quality cherries, scale in production, modern post-harvest techniques and efficient organisation of the distribution and marketing chain. Despite the clear opportunities for growth in the region, problems remain around upskilling the sub-sector, in terms of knowledge transfer and support aimed at growers, particularly on how different varieties, ripeness at harvest, the year and post-harvest storage conditions affect the nutritional and sensory quality of the cherry.

The priority focus of this Operational Group is to improve the quality of the fruit growers' cherries and, with it, the economic value of the cherry of a given municipality, through the implementation and monitoring of farming practices and post-harvest measures.