Producer Fiona Hall said that with a bigger crop this year compared to last year shoppers would pay about $9-$11 a kilogram for smaller cherries and about $20 for the larger fruit.

Mrs Hall said about 300 pickers and two shifts of 50 packing shed and cool store workers were working flat out to fill trucks heading to market from her Caernarvon Cherry Company farm.

 “Yes, it’s game on here,” she said.

“Coming into Christmas demand is huge.

“Lots of fruit is coming in but warm weather over the next few days is going to really ripen up the crop and it’s going to be flat out.

“We should get the majority of the crop off in the next two weeks.”

Mrs Hall said most of the fruit had survived storms earlier this month which would ensure a bigger crop and cheaper prices than last year.

“Last year we had a very light crop and this year there is plenty of volume around so we expect that everyone’s going to have ample opportunity to get those cherries at affordable prices on the table this year,” she said.

“Depending on the size, a small cherry probably retails at $9-11 a kilo and the big cherries up to $20 a kilo.”

The Department of Primary Industries’ acting Deputy Director General Agriculture Kate Lorimer-Ward said the quality was high.

“Looking at the packing shed today the quality of fruit that is coming in is brilliant.”

Ms Lorimer-Ward said nearly half of the NSW crop would be exported overseas.

She said Asian countries wanted larger and darker-coloured cherries while Middle Eastern countries preferred smaller cherries.