03/14/05 Ambrosia`s greater presence

Just recently Wenatchee based McDougall and Sons announced it has obtained the exclusive U.S. marketing rights for a new niche apple variety & a variety widely planted in British Columbia but that according to McDougall and Sons' Scott McDougall has a lot of potential to capture markets in America. MCDOUGALL: I had gone to Canada to observe this apple several times. I like the looks of the apple. I obviously like the name of the apple. And McDougall says Ambrosia, the apple variety, lives up to its name, displaying a very sweet taste under its bi-colored skin. While there are some plantings and marketings of Ambrosia in the U.S., McDougall says those growers now will have to go through his company, or sister company Columbia Marketing International, to be able to market their product. As for McDougall and Sons' plans for Ambrosia, that includes new plantings around Chelan, the Quincy Valley and the Royal Slope, with sales of 400,000 boxes of full volume expected by 2012. Marketing of the Ambrosia would be limited, according to McDougall, roughly starting in October. MCDOUGALL: And it would probably be marketed through we feel like the end of March at which time, P.I.C.O. Canada, has sold rights into Chile, into the Southern Hemisphere, and they would be coming on with fresh product, so we look at it as a five to six month marketing window opportunity.