Exciting and new Okanagan-developed cherries make their world debut

They are dark red, bordering on black, sweet, firm, late-ripening, Okanagan-developed and immediately in demand globally.

They are the Safirah and Sansia cherry varieties making their world debut this season.

"These cherries represent the very best of Canadian breeding and production and we can't wait to share them with our global customers," said Sarah Bistritz, global sales and operations manager with World Fresh Exports.

"Our customers are looking for cherries that deliver on every level -- size, flavour, firmness, consistency and timing. Sansia and Safirah cherries check all those boxes. They're remarkable cherries, grown by World Fresh's best Canadian producers and we're thrilled to be taking them to the world."

World Fresh is headquartered in Hong Kong and has offices in Lake Country in the Okanagan, Oroville in Washington state and Beijing.

It ships fresh cherries, blueberries, grapes, apples, oranges, grapefruit, peaches, plums and nectarines from Canada, the US, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Chile to markets worldwide, with a focus on China.

The Safirah and Sansia cherries were developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Summerland.

In homage of their 'S'ummerland origins, cherries developed there have names starting with 'S', including Skeena, Sweetheart, Staccato, Satina and Sentennial.

The 'S' names don't necessarily have to have a meaning, however, Safirah is a Arabic and Hebrew girls' name meaning beauty, preciousness and wisdom and Sansia is a Latin girls' name meaning sacred, purity and grace.

Both are awesome names for both girls and cherries.

After being developed in Summerland, orchardists throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen and Creston starting growing Sansia and Safirah cherries to make their debut in the summer of 2026.

"At first, quantities will be limited, but expect that to change over time," said Nick Ibuki, business development manager at Summerland Varieties, the corporation that markets the varieties Agri-Food in Summerland develops.

"World Fresh has an outstanding reputation for marketing premium cherries, so we're delighted to see them introducing these exceptional new varieties to global markets as an authorized marketer."

By late June, the market is flooded with cherries from California and Washington state.

So, Okanagan producers increasingly turn their attention to varieties that ripen mid-season (such as Sansia) and late-summer varieties (such as Safirah) to gain the competitive advantage of selling in July, August and September when other cherry supplies have dried up.

On top of this, the Sansia and Safirah cherries are delicious, attractive, firm, travel well and last longer on store shelves -- all important considerations when shipping fruit to wholesalers and retailers near and far.

Cherries are a rising star in BC.

In 2010, there were 2,000 acres in cherries, mostly in the Okanagan.

Last year, the acreage was 6,072, yielding a bumper crop of 90,000 tonnes of cherries.

While apples are still the king of tree fruits in the Okanagan, acreage and production is dwindling as some orchardists diversify or switch to cherries, which have the potenial for more profit.