PORTLAND, Ore. — Northwest cherries are due to hit the stores pretty soon, but there will fewer of them and probably at a higher price.
Cherry industry officials in Washington and Oregon estimate a tree infection has substantially depleted the fruit for this year’s harvest. The infection, known as little cherry disease, has chopped an estimated 40 million pounds from the annual harvest beginning at the end of May.
Cherry growers have to cut down infected trees to prevent the disease from spreading before entire orchards are ruined.
The crop is expected to be down about 20% from the record-setting crop of 2017.