Rare, super-luxe greenhouse Northwest cherries fetch top dollar in Asia

The cherries you’ll find at Cherry Ridge Farms in Kennewick, Washington, are not your typical cherries. They’re huge and expensive — super luxe, and they’re not for sale in the Northwest.

The quality of these Greenhouse Rainiers is great for exporting to Asia, Kam Chauhan, 43, said. And the Asian market loves this variety.

“They’re willing to pay double prices than normal cherry,” he said. “If they’re clean, they’re sweet, they got more flavor, and they’re big.”

Chauhan’s family has been farming for seven generations, and this is his 28th cherry season. He’s a Yakima-based overseas marketer for Cherry Ridge and many other farms.

He said he exports to Japan, Singapore, China and other Asian countries where the fruits are more of a luxury item, selling for up to $10 per cherry or $20 for a small cup of the fruit.

“They love the flavor,” Chauhan said. “They like the color, but mostly they love the flavor.”

It's peak cherry season in the Northwest. The fruits are typically grown outdoors in an orchard. This business in southeast Washington is doing things a little differently: Chauhan said the greenhouse where they grow Rainiers is the only one of its kind in North America. Each cherry is nearly the size of a golf ball.