Below is a list of the most important cherry production areas in the world, divided into continents and specific regions.
Asia and the Middle East
The main cultivations of cherries in Western Asia are in: Turkey (mainly in Anatolia), Iran, Uzbekistan, Lebanon (Bekaa Valley), Syria (Golan heights) and Israel (Golan Heights, Gush Eztion and North Galilee).
Europe
The European countries that boast the highest productivity of cherries are Italy and Spain, secondarily also other Mediterranean regions and, to a lesser extent, certain Baltic countries and Southern Scandinavia.
In France, starting in 1920, the first seasonal cherries are garganeys and come from the Céret region (Eastern Pyrenees); traditionally (since 1932), local producers send the first cherry box to the president of the French Republic.
North America
In the United States, most cherry trees are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The most important American sweet cherry cultivars are: Bing, Brooks, Tulare, King, Sweetheart and Ranieri. The Lambert variety grows on the eastern side of Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana.
Both Oregon and Michigan produce the Royal Ann (Napoleon, alternatively Queen Anne), a very light cherry for the production of maraschino.
Most sour cherries (here, also called tart) are grown in Michigan, then Utah, New York and Washington.
The prevalent cultivars of American sour cherries are Nanjing and Evans.
Traverse City, Michigan, has proclaimed itself the "Cherry Capital of the World"; hosts the "National Cherry Festival" and produced the largest cherry cake in the world. The most famous region of Michigan for cherry pies is Traverse Bay.
Native and non-native sweet cherries also grow well in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, where for 66 consecutive years (to 2014) the annual cherry tree festival (Okanagan Valley city of Osoyoos) is celebrated. In addition to Okanagan, other important cherry production regions are Similkameen Valley and Kootenay Valley; all three together produce 5.5 million kilograms per year, or 60% of Canada's total production. The variety of cherries produced in British Columbia are Rainier, Van, Chelan, Lapin, Sweetheart, Skeena, Staccato, Christalina and Bing.
Australia
In Australia, cherries are grown in all states except in the Northern Territory. The main productive regions are located in the temperate zones of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Major production areas include Young, Orange and Bathurst in New South Wales, Wandin, Goulburn and Murray Valley in Victoria, the Adelaide Hills region in South Australia, Huon and Derwent Valleys in Tasmania.
The most important commercial varieties, in order of seasonality, are: Empress, Merchant, Supreme, Ron's seedling, Chelan, Ulster, Van, Bing, Stella, Nordwunder, Lapins, Simone, Regina, Kordia and Sweetheart.
New varieties have also been introduced, such as the late Staccato and the early Sequoia.
Currently, the "Australian Cherry Breeding" program is developing a series of new varieties, which are still being evaluated.
The city of New South Wales, in the Young, is called "Cherry Capital of Australia" and hosts the "National Cherry Festival".
