Stonefruit

The USDA has released itsChinese stonefruit annual report, forecasting peach and nectarine production at around 10m tonnes for 2010, with cherry production around the 190,000 tonne mark, up 2 and 3 per cent respectively on 2009 levels.

The report states the gains would have been greater but production was hampered by cold weather throughout the spring.

Cherry imports to China for 2010 are forecast to be 9,600 tonnes, a 55 per cent increase from the previous year, due to high volumes of cherries from Chile, China's largest supplier. The amount of US cherries imported by China will be lower this year, due to a decrease in available volume.

US cherries will make up around 20 per cent of China's total market share, down from around 40 per cent last year. China does not export cherries because domestic production cannot keep pace with local demand.

Peach and nectarine exports are predicted to be around 52,000 tonnes, up 30 per cent from 2009 due to steady demand from South East Asia, Central Europe and Russia.