Variable weather has made it difficult for cherry growers to maintain their crops.

According to B.C. Cherry Association president Sukhpaul Bal the hail storm that cut through the Okanagan Thursday didn乌鸦传媒檛 affect the crops anymore than the rain this July, which split and washed out the early cherry varieties.

乌鸦传媒淲hen a storm comes through and gets everything wet we can usually get in there and dry everything off and then we乌鸦传媒檙e usually good. But what I乌鸦传媒檝e seen is rain event after rain event, multiple times a day, so it makes it hard to get in there and dry everything up because another rain shower comes back in,乌鸦传媒� said Bal.

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He said it has been the worst season he has seen in 20 years and has slashed cherry growers revenue in half.

乌鸦传媒淲e are going to make half the money we were expecting and we乌鸦传媒檝e put the same amount of costs up to that point as other years, but that乌鸦传媒檚 the risk of being a cherry grower. In just a week your earnings could be cut drastically,乌鸦传媒� said Bal.

He said there乌鸦传媒檚 about half the amount of cherries on market shelves than previous years, which means they are a bit more pricey this season.

READ MORE: 435 insurance claims from Okanagan tree fruit growers so far this season

乌鸦传媒淭he positive is with the decrease in supply because a lot of the cherries are damaged there should be an increase in the price of cherries. There aren乌鸦传媒檛 that many that survived so hopefully the price reflects on how many cherries there are,乌鸦传媒� aid Bal. 乌鸦传媒淗opefully we do get a good price for the cherries we do have that did survive the rain.乌鸦传媒�

laryn.gilmour@blackpress.ca
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