02/21/05 The billion dollar secret?, Part two

02/21/05 The billion dollar secret?, Part two

The recent economic impact study released by the Washington State Horticultural Association and Washington State Tree Fruit Research Commission showed that the tree fruit industry generates $5.6 billion dollars annually for the state. And according to Jim McPherson of the Washington State Tree Fruit Research Commission, that just doesn't mean direct sales. MCPHERSON: There's a lot of reinvestment in the apple industry in the cherry industry in the pear industry. Packing sheds are being expanded, improved, there's new orchard going on. We need to tell that story, that we're not about to give up on our agriculture industry, our tree fruits, in this part of the state, and neither should the rest. The economic power of the tree fruit industry, its impact, isn't just in Wenatchee, or Yakima, or Sunnyside. We ship about a third of our crop overseas. Where do those apples go? Where do those cherries go? Through ports in the west coast, a lot of it right through Sea-Tac. A lot of the transportation issues. A lot of the folks that are vacationing in our part of the state enjoy it because of its beautiful scenery, of which tree fruits comprise an important part. But the bigger number, according to Jim McPherson of the Washington State Horticultural Association, is the 140,000 jobs created annually by the tree fruit industry. Or as McPherson illustrates, the tree fruit industry employs more people in Washington State than Microsoft. So with all this data, what does the tree fruit industry hope to accomplish as a result? Some answers are coming up on our next program.
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