Cherries grow best in very free-draining, fertile soils with a PH range of 6 - 6.7. The soil should not be prone to waterlogging and have good nutrient retention.

Growing cherries is suited to flat whenua and slopes that are less than 7 degrees are recommended. This is to help manage health and safety risks at harvest (ladders), and operation of machinery. Block size and shape will also affect the efficient north-south alignment of tree rows.

Cherries need a soil depth of at least 1.5m to grow well. Their comprehensive root system absorbs nutrients and water from a variety of soil layers.

Cherry trees are light feeders meaning that they prefer low-nitrogen fertilisers. For good cherry growth and yields, various nutrients are required. This includes:

• Phosphorus - to stimulate root growth
• Potassium and sulphur - to contribute to the fruit yield and quality
• Nitrogen - must be carefully managed to achieve high yields
• Boron, iron, magnesium, and zinc - in smaller quantities to produce premium fruit.

It's important to test your soils before planting your crop. Many companies offer this service. This will help you understand the current fertility of your block and nutrient requirements.

Soil safe Aotearoa

Cherries have very specific temperature requirements. They will need several winter chill hours at less than 7°C but frosts during spring will be damaging. During summer, long hours with a temperature between 10-30°C are ideal for growing and maturing the fruit.

They are sensitive to frost during budburst and flowering. Average daily temperatures need to be greater than 0°C at bud burst and during flowering. Budburst needs to be carefully forecast. A total of 1300 hours at least than 7°C between 1 June and 31 August is 95% suitable for a wide range of cultivars. Relative humidity that is less than 84% reduces the risk of fruit cracking (about 95% suitable). Risk is from about 1 November, as fruit forms.

Modelling the effect of climate change on land suitability for growing perennial crops

Although cherries like a hot, dry summer they still need well-timed rainfall or adequate soil moisture over the summer to ensure good fruit fill. Too much rain can lead to root rot and fruit damage and too little moisture can affect the growth of the tree.

While the fruit is maturing and at harvesting, cherries need completely dry weather to prevent the fruit from splitting.

If you're thinking about growing cherries on your whenua, check the rainfall and rain intensity in your region. This is important while your cherries are growing and before and during harvest.

See NIWA for more information.

The cherry is a perennial tree crop, meaning you will get one crop every year over the productive lifetime of the tree.

When planning to plant cherries, you will need to consider your geographic location and the types of cherry suited to this location. Different varieties of cherry will grow better in the North and South Island due to temperature differences.

For advice on what types of cherry suit your whenua, talk to Summerfruit NZ.

Summerfruit NZ

Cherry trees are planted in full sun at 700-900 trees/hectare. The plants can be difficult to source so planning ahead with a nursery is essential.

You may need machinery to prepare your whenua for planting. Depending on what pest-control decisions you make, you may also need to construct large amounts of infrastructure for netting and rain protection.

Consider planting a variety of cherry cultivars to extend your harvest period. A cherry tree will come into production within two years and reach maximum yield at 6-7 years old.

Beehives should be placed in the orchard to assist with pollination.

Cherries don't ripen off the tree so harvest is a short and intense period between December and February.

Harvesting cherries is done by hand and there is a high demand for labour at this time. Cherries are picked with the stem left intact to maintain quality.

After harvesting the cherries from the tree, they're collected and transported to a packhouse immediately.

After harvesting your cherries, the storage of your crop is very important. This ensures your crop can get to international and domestic markets in the best possible quality.

Packhouses will gradually cool your crop on arrival. This helps to maintain the quality of the crop. The cherries are then quality checked, graded and packed before being despatched to either the local or export market.

Cherries can be affected by fungal diseases and pests like aphids. The main threat to your crop though is birds. You will need consider using pest management methods, such as:

• netting or bird scaring
• counting the number and species of pests weekly
• monitoring crops to assess plant health
• making the environment attractive to insects that can eat pests
• targeted use of fungicides and pesticides.

Summerfruit NZ

Summerfruit NZ is the industry body that represents the interests of over 240 apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, and plum growers. Commercial growers pay a compulsory levy (the Commodities Levies (Summerfruit) Order 2020). The levy funds co-ordinated activities across the industry including research and development, market development, and provides grower support and education.

Summerfruit NZ is the recognised product group for summerfruit under the New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority (HEA). Summerfruit has been subject to export licensing under the HEA Act since 1987 which means all exporters must be registered.

Read more about Commodities Levies (Summerfruit) Order 2020

Export market

New Zealand exports around 80% of the commercial cherry crop, and South East Asia is the key market. There is a narrow seasonal window for cherries. Exports target the Chinese New Year (which has a shifting date). Picking starts mid-December, ramps up in early January, and runs through mid-February.

Investment opportunities in the New Zealand cherry industry

Scale

To return a profit from growing cherries, the orchard needs to be at least 25 hectares in size, unless it can be run by an owner-operator. Turning a profit from growing cherries depends on several factors, like:

• your location - access to the market, or infrastructure, or to a packhouse. Of the 720 hectares of cherries grown in New Zealand, 90% are located in Central Otago.
• your production practices - modern machinery and equipment or smaller scale efficiencies
• the market demand and access to the market
• your operational efficiencies - larger orchards may benefit from economies of scale.

Equipment and infrastructure

There are various tools and equipment needed for growing and harvesting cherries. The MBIE publication 'Investment opportunities in the New Zealand Cherry Industry', estimated costs to establish a cherry orchard are around $150,000 to $200,000 per hectare for a 20-40 hectare operation. These costs include:

• land preparation
• trees
• trellis
• packhouse (highly mechanised)
• buildings
• chiller
• transport
• pruning equipment
• harvesting equipment, and,
• permanent irrigation systems.

It's estimated that you'll need to grow at least 25 hectares of cherries to generate a profit if you do not have infrastructure in place. If you have a self-contained operation, with infrastructure in place, then 5 hectares would be the minimum orchard size to generate a profit.

Covered cropping using nets to protect crops from losses due to birds adds another $50,000 - $70,000 per hectare. You may also need weather protection like hail netting, rain covers, and wind machines.

Cherries have a short shelf life and therefore require a supply chain that can deliver top-quality products to key markets rapidly. After harvesting your crop, you will need to get it into a chiller quickly to cool the fruit to 0-2 degrees to maintain their shelf life. There are 24 export-certified packhouses in New Zealand.

Jobs and people

Your people and labour requirements are tied to a narrow seasonal window. Large orchards may need 200+ pickers during key weeks in January when up to 20% of the total crop is ready to harvest. Packhouses vary in size based on local production volumes.

You'll need a mixture of unskilled labour, as well as specialists. The specialists will help you with:

• managing the crop cycle,
• pest management techniques,
• harvesting and,
• post-harvest management.

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme

The cherry industry is highly reliant on seasonal workers and many of these will be recruited from overseas. The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme can help you find and recruit overseas workers. You must register as a recognised seasonal employer and meet several conditions to be able to use the scheme.

Read more about the RSE scheme here.

Case study - Central Otago Cherry Orchard

Here is an example of a cherry orchard in Central Otago, let's imagine it had 10 hectares of cherries grown last year.

It yielded 150 tonnes of cherries, bringing in a revenue of $2,310,000.

It had $1,710,000 in expenses, and the farm made a profit of $600,000.

It took 4 years for the trees to start producing fruit and mature yields were reached after 8 years (time to commercial yield).

Operational costs

The estimated operational costs to grow cherries are around $171,000 per hectare per year. This depends on factors, like:

• scale of the operation
• level of mechanisation
• specific horticultural practices
• regional and locational factors
• market conditions.

Labour costs are very high, especially in the narrow-picking season. Some other examples of costs that you'll need to consider are:

• trees
• fertilisers
• pesticides and herbicides
• skilled and unskilled labour
• permits, licenses, or certifications
• compliance with regulations and food safety standards.

Costs

There are some costs you will need to consider, and these will change with the amount produced. Here are some examples:

Yield (and time to profit)

It typically takes several years to establish a sustainable and profitable operation. You need to ensure that you have market access before your trees start producing fruit.

Maximising the number of good quality cherries produced will increase the profits you earn. Factors that can contribute to higher cherry yields include:

• crop management (for example, intensive trellis systems, and uses of bird netting, hail netting, rain covers and wind machines)
• variety selection
• planting density
• nutrient management
• weed control
• harvesting at the right time.

Revenue

Returns from cherry production are influenced by a variety of factors, including:

• market conditions (prices are volatile)
• yield
• quality
• production costs
• pricing strategies
• events beyond your control, for example weather conditions such as frosts and storms or market fluctuations.

The New Zealand cherry growers suffered a big financial downturn during the Covid pandemic when the borders were closed because they rely on utilising overseas seasonal workers and selling into the export market.

Things to create better returns include:

• efficient practices to maximise yield and production
• crop protection from birds and weather
• market demand and pricing
• quality and grading
• cost management
• storage and post-harvest handling
• value-added opportunities

To help you make informed decisions and maximise returns, it's important for you to:

• stay informed about market trends through research.
• maintain good relationships with buyers.
• regularly assess your orchard's production and financial performance through tracking costs.

Operating profit

To estimate your operating profit, you'll need to look at the amount of money generated from selling your cherries, minus your production costs. Some factors may affect your revenue and influence your orchard's operating profit. These include:

• orchard size or the size of your cherry crop area
• yield - the quantity of cherries sold
• market conditions and fluctuations
• production costs and efficient horticultural practices
• pricing strategies
• weather conditions.

You will need to consider your production costs, which can include:

• labour
• tree costs
• fertilisers
• irrigation
• pest and disease management
• machinery maintenance
• storage
• packaging
• marketing costs.

These costs can be affected by having efficient horticultural practices and effective cost management.

Each orchard will have factors specific to them and different market dynamics. Keeping accurate records of your production and financial records can help you see where improvements could be made and increase your operating profit.

Aotearoa mainly exports cherries to South East Asia. The authorities can provide information on what's needed to export cherries, including:

• procedures
• documentation
• fees or licences
• packaging standards
• biosecurity requirements.

To export cherries, you need to follow legislative requirements, including:

• paying levies to Summerfruit New Zealand on the sale of your cherries. Summerfruit New Zealand collects 0.75% of the sale price collected by the grower.
• the Horticulture Export Authority (HEA) manages the export licensing system which anyone wishing to export cherries must apply for and receive this licence for export. This system establishes processes and standards for exporters to follow and enables the industry to ensure that basic quality levels exporters are required to meet are high. This includes documentation and packaging standards.
• ensuring food is grown so it can be sold under the Food Act 2014
• meeting regulations around risks to freshwater.

Horticulture Export Authority (HEA)

You must comply with National Programme 1 requirements under the Food Act 2014. This includes:

• following safe food practices, like checking for pests and using clean water
• registering your business with either your local council or MPI
• getting your business verified.

Learn more about National Programme 1.

You will need a freshwater farm plan, either now or by 2025 if your whenua will have:

• 20 hectares or more of arable and/or pastoral use, or
• 5 hectares or more of horticultural use, or
• 20 hectares or more of combined uses.

These plans identify actions to manage and mitigate risks of on-farm activity to freshwater. They must be certified and audited, then recertified every 5 years.

Learn more about freshwater farm plans.

Some additional certifications and registrations may make your cherries more appealing to buyers.

You must be certified with New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP), and this carries a yearly fee. Some retailers and wholesalers only take crops from an NZGAP-certified supply channel.

Learn more about NZGAP.