Well it would be 7th as USA is not there. We are the 2nd largest producer.
It’s our 2nd largest fresh food export.384,646 metric tons in 2012
Here is data from 2016
http://top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=576c5a18
Sources: FAOSTAT data, 2016 (last accessed by Top 5 of Anything: January 2016).
EEUU means US in Spanish. (Estados Unidos)
So, the bottom chart shows U.S.A. exports twice the volume at 4 times the value as Spain. Does that mean our cherries are twice as good? 
(Just in case the little winky face doesn’t translate well, it shows I’m joking with you.)
Thanks, I’m a little less ignorant now!
not, of course, production has nothing to do with the quality of the fruit, we saw just data, one can not compare with other countries (USA covers an area 19 times larger than Spain).
Returning to the previous topic, my opinion is that globally the same variety grown in the north and in the south, the south will be better.
in the north have much water and little sun, that will give us huge but low brix fruit flavor and aromas.
in the south we have little water and plenty of sunshine, that will give us normal high brix fruit flavor and aromas.
in the United States occurs as in Europe, I give you an example with fig trees that are so fashionable in the United States:
where we will have better figs, sweeter and do not crack? in the hot San Joaquin Valley (California) or in the rainy washington?
completely unaware where best fruit and wonder why (so I find me too), there is better quality in USA (south) or Canada (North)? … …
Matrix Your breakdown applies here too. California produces very good fruit and the most. But the north has it’s niches. We produce the most tart or sour cherries, and blueberries are very good here too. As you mention water and light, Here in the north where I am it is warm enough in the summer to produce high brix cherries. Since ripening is so short it doesn’t seem to matter as much. Long ripening fruit like figs, no, but I still have over 20 fig trees in Michigan. I’m happy with the fruit too. Sure it would be better elsewhere, but just having it is very nice.
Thanks Andy, if you dare, you are hereby invited to enjoy the cherry blossom next year.
Matrix, it completely depends on what type of fruit and where it’s grown here in the USA. We have such a large country with an incredibly wide variety of growing conditions. Here is S. California, figs are actually considered pest plants, lol!! They will grow out of cracks in the sidewalk, or in a crack in a wall. Think of the best fig growing conditions in Italy, and you have a large percentage of S. California’s growing conditions with regard to figs, especially further south, and within 10 miles of the coast. I live in a city that has the reputation of having the “best climate in the USA”. We also have more commercial nurseries here than anywhere else in the country. We can literally grow just about anything and grow it well with the exception of fruits that fall into the outer extremes (need very high chill hours, or are extremely tropical, and cannot tolerate temps that might approach freezing). So, you really cannot paint the USA with any sort of broad brush. I happen to think our figs grown here are outstanding. My Italian grandmother, however, was constantly complaining, “Bleh, these are terrible, they are so much better in Italy.” I think she was just a little bias 
andrew and patty I totally agree with you and you can not generalize, each area is suitable for different crops, for example, in the north of my country kiwi is grown and I can not grow kiwi summer die in my high temperatures
for me the biggest problem of the south is the possible lack of cold hours for certain crops, although this studying hard and taking new varieties with low needs of cold.
water is not a problem more and more swamps and water is used to irrigate crops and ensure a good harvest
Unless I am mistaken, it appears I have a lot of fruit-bearing spurs developing on my Whitegold cherry on Krymsk.5… and still no sign of canker.
I hope this means that more yummy cherries are coming my way soon.
To add to the north vs south debate: remember that the earth’s axial tilt makes summer days very long, closer to the poles. Closer to the equator, day length doesn’t change so much in different seasons.
What this might mean for cherries, I have no idea.
Can anyone tell me what happened to these cherries?
They were hanging on my Whitegold (K.5)… getting larger… but then browned and shriveled a bit. Upon gently touching them, they fall off by the stem.
Other cherries on my Whitegold have continued to grow, and look bright yellowish green and full of life.
I can’t imagine this is rot or poor fertilization, but really don’t know. What could this be?
Per what I’ve read, it could be that these dropped cherries were affected by drastic changes of weather during bloom and fruit set (while other cherries do not). Per Jellyman,on one of the old Gardenweb threads, he thought it could be because the tree is not fully mature to hold all the fruit. How old is your tree?
I also came across this article from England, Cherry fruit drop / RHS Gardening.
It seems they have cherry drops like we have apple June drops.
It happened to me with my Montmorency the first 3 years it blossomed and set fruit. Cherries seem to set fruit when the are ready, like most fruit trees.
Its the equivalent of June drop but for cherries … May drop! My Regina has a lot of that happening now as well as a bit on some other varieties. My White Gold doesn’t set enough but it does hang on to what it sets.
Yes exactly! It can take up to 6 years or more!
Funny, mine sets well, but loses a lot. It’s young though,
I guess it depends on where you live, sweet cherry may not be so bad choice for new home grower. The caveat is probably not from big box stores 
Below is a container planted White Gold on Gi5. Planted in 2015 spring. It’s just small harvest, but quite satisfying experience for newbie like me. Zero spray, over winter in unheated garage. zone 7b, New York Metro. This year rain did crack some fruits
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Matt, that looks like cherry stempitting virus, I’m dealing with that on one of my lapins trees. It’s spread by the dagger nematode, and all my cherries that made it are half size and not as flavorful. Doesn’t look to be a good solution other than disposing of the tree. I already lost a Bing tree earlier this spring to it. I believe it also has to do with to wet, slow draining soil there. In my front yard orchard that was disked my cherries are thriving, out back only the ones planted on mounds are doing well. Not sure if this is what you have but might be worth looking into. You may want to research tomato ringspot virus, it seems to be connected to the stempitting.
I don’t think thats what those are, those are the equivalent of June drop on cherries - fruit that aborts later. My Regina does that a lot. Stem pitting virus shows as a weak tree overall and small fruit.
Sweet cherries are my favorite fruit. When I started my orchard 3 years ago I got some advice that I didn’t really follow and that was to focus on fruit that grows better in my area and skip or hold off on the cherries. I didnt listen becuase I really like sweet cherries. 3 years later Ive come to the realization that everyone was right and that cherries are a pain in the butt to grow here unless you are willing to go to outrageous lengths to protect them from critters. Ive also planted Pluots and apricots which are also known to be difficult here. And in three years they’ve also proved to be just that. The good news is that 66 percent of my trees are apples and pears which are known to do well.
