Last year demand for Northwest cherries was strong, but supply could not meet retailers' demand, which meant they changed their focus to other suppliers, according to B.J. Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission and Northwest Cherry Growers. Thurlby and colleagues at Northwest Cherry Growers outlined the marketing challenges and opportunities for cherries during the annual Cherry Institute.
While more than 19 million 20-pound boxes of Northwest cherries — most from Washington state — were shipped in 2015, a majority of the boxes were shipped in June as the hot weather prompted an earlier harvest for all varieties, including cherries that typically came later in the summer.
Cherry shipments peaked on June 25, nearly a month earlier than in 2014. The result: There were record shipments in June, but a drastic year-over-year decline in shipments in July, typically a high-selling month for the industry.
By July, there wasn’t enough supply to meet retailers’ demand, said B.J. Thurlby.
Keith Hu, who oversees international cherry promotions, noted several successes during the 2015 cherry harvest.
Those successes came despite several challenges, including a strong U.S. dollar that made cherries more expensive and supply challenges due to the earlier harvest.
Nearly 31 percent of the 2015 crop was exported, similar to past years. Top countries were Canada, China and South Korea, but shipments to Vietnam grew, a reflection of increased promotions there.
Hu highlighted successful promotions, such as a contest with an online shopping site in China where shoppers had a chance to win diamonds with a cherry purchase and a pop-up store in South Korea that attracted 8,500 visitors in the last week of June.
The big challenge for cherry exports in 2016 is ongoing economic decline in China. Not only is China a top importer of Northwest cherries, but economic declines could impact other top cherry importers, such as South Korea.
But Hu also noted long-term trends in China that could benefit the cherry industry, such as continued growth of the middle class over the next 15 years.
In the meantime, Northwest Cherry Growers are looking at new markets. Hu said efforts are underway to get a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund a trial promotion in the Philippines.
James Michael, who oversees cherry promotions in North America, talked about domestic marketing opportunities.
The majority of cherry buyers in the U.S. are occasional buyers who may opt to buy just one bag or package of cherries every season. In 2015, there were about 82 million single purchases of the product.
If those buyers bought just one more bag, that would equal 164 million units.
Combined with purchases from more frequent buyers, U.S. shoppers could potentially buy 202 million units of Northwest cherries.
That equals 28.4 million boxes, well above the amount of Northwest cherries harvested in 2015 and even above the record crop of nearly 23 million boxes in 2014.
