Last year, nearly 60 million pounds of Northwest-grown cherries were exported to China. Those cherries were sold at retailers in a dozen cities, which collectively had nearly 115.6 million residents. The country’s large population, along with a rapid increase in middle- and upper-middle class wage earners, has made China a major and growing export market for Northwest cherries. Last year, China was the top export market for Northwest cherries, surpassing Canada.
But continued market growth has been dampened by a 50 percent tariff now tacked to U.S. cherries imported into China, a result of an ongoing trade war with the U.S. Local fruit companies have continued to sell and ship cherries to China, but officials say it won’t be anywhere near last year’s level. And many fruit companies’ sales departments have opted to discount the product to compensate for the tariff, which means lower returns for local growers.
“I would say that the buyers are hesitant in many ways, not knowing how new tariffs will affect sales,” said Jeff Webb, director of international business development for Domex Superfresh Growers, the Yakima-based tree-fruit marketing firm.
Still, things could be worse. This year’s crop is smaller than last year, which mitigates some of the negative impacts, said Frank Davis, VP of Sales for Washington Fruit in Yakima.
Heraldnet.com reports how, according to industry estimates, about 23 million 20-pound boxes are projected to be shipped around the U.S. and worldwide this year, well below the 26.4 million boxes shipped in 2017.
