Cherry Exports Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Cherry exports are facing a rough road ahead with supply chain challenges not expected to go away any time soon.
NW Cherry Growers president, BJ Thurlby says China will be more challenging, but our immediate neighbors to the north and south offer up some opportunities …
THURLBY … “Yes, absolutely, the NAFTA countries, you know, we’re going to ship 2 to 3 million boxes to Canada every year. You know, their season comes up right in the middle of our season, so there’s always kind of a lull right in the middle of our season while the Canadian crop is harvested and consumed by our Canadian brothers and sisters.”
And to the south …
THURLBY … “Then in Mexico this year, cherries have been, you know, a slower build over the years than apples and pears. I mean, in Mexico apples and pears it’s their top markets. And we see the opportunity to do that in Mexico.”
This past year, Thurlby says was positive …
THURLBY … “The most we’ve ever shipped there, prior to this year, was 216,000 boxes, and when I say boxes, I’m talking about 20-pound boxes of cherries. And this year we’ve shipped almost 420,000 so it really jumped up.”
Thurlby says Mexico’s proximity was nice with last season’s weather challenges …
THURLBY … “I think the good news going forward is that they did take advantage of it and we think that now we’ve got the ball rolling there. So, let’s hope that Mexico becomes a half-million box market in the next year or so.”
Thurlby says broadening their market options is always important for growers, but even more so in these challenging times.
