Bumper cherry season as farmers bounce back from bushfires, drought

Farmers have begun a bumper cherry harvest of the best quality since 2016. While the cherries will be cheaper, there is a price hike on some other fruits due to COVID-19.

Cherries will be plumper, juicier and redder this year.

After the worst ever drought on record, farmers have begun a bumper cherry harvest of the best quantity and quality since 2016.

In the Blue Mountains town of Bilpin, cherry growers whose trees survived last year’s Gospers Mountain mega-blaze that raged for 79 days, have this year enjoyed near perfect growing conditions.

Cherry farmer and owner of Bilpin Botanic Orchard, Andrew Lee, has 40 per cent more cherries than last year. Picture: Tim Hunter

A year after fighting back flames that burned down his boundary fences, cherry farmer Andrew Lee, 61, was out picking cherries last week on his orchard surrounded by blackened trees along the Bells Line of Rd.

Cherries are ripe for the picking after good rainfall replaced drought conditions. Picture: Tim Hunter

While Mr Lee managed to save his 300 cherry trees from the inferno, his wilted cherries were decimated by starved wildlife that managed to escape the flames.

“I fought the fire myself and kept the flames at bay five metres from the cherry trees, but I could not save the cherries from fruit from bats and birds,” he said.

“This year we have had more rain, there are about 40 per cent more cherries, and the fruit is very sweet and delicious.”

Cherries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries will be about 10 per cent cheaper this year thanks to abundant supply, according to Coles.

However experts have predicted the price of apples, grapes, stone fruit and pears to increase by 25 per cent because COVID-19 has kept away foreign pickers.