Cherry Production by Country 2025

Cherries, with their diverse varieties and uses, form a fascinating part of global agriculture and cuisine. Here’s an organized overview of the cherry industry.

Diversity and Types

• There are over 1,200 cherry types worldwide, offering a range from intensely sweet to distinctly tart flavors.
• Their colors vary from deep red to yellow and almost white.
• Cherries can be enjoyed raw, in foods like pies, or in beverages such as wines and ciders.

Growing Regions

• Cherries grow wild in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and are also cultivated on farms, sometimes for specific strains desired by candy manufacturers.
• In the U.S., the West predominantly grows sweeter varieties, while the Midwest is known for more tart cherries.

Global Production

• The global cherry harvest reached 4.3 - 5 million metric tons in 2023, up from about 2.7 million metric tons in 2021.
• Turkey and Chile are the top cherry producers globally, with Turkey contributing about 22% of the total production (736,791 metric tons) and Chile producing 465,348 metric tons.
• Other significant producers include the United States (321,420 metric tons), Uzbekistan (218,867 metric tons), and Iran (144,877 metric tons).

United States Production

• Washington state leads in U.S. cherry production, specializing in sweeter varieties like Bing, Lambert, Rainier, and Van.

• Michigan’s suitability for cherry growing is attributed to its soil and the climatic influence of the Great Lakes.

• Traverse City, Michigan, claims the title of “Cherry Capital of the World,” a nod to its long history of cherry cultivation dating back to the 1850s.

• Traverse City hosts the country’s first cherry processing facility and celebrates this heritage with the annual National Cherry Festival in July.

Consumption Trends

• American cherry consumption has increased significantly, growing 400% from 1995 to 2008, rising from 0.3 pounds per capita to 1.3 pounds.

This detailed look at the cherry industry reveals the fruit’s cultural and economic significance, from varied cultivation practices to evolving consumer trends.