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10/04/10Governor's Mission to ChinaMid September, I had the opportunity to travel to China on the Washington State Governor’s Mission. Prior to the mission, Washington Apple Commission Chairman Frank Davis and I visited Shandong Province and I would like to share these details with you.Yantai is a coastal city lying southwest of Dalian and northwest of Beijing. We drove approximately 120 km from Yantai into Shandong Province to the packing facility of Alpha Fruit Packers. Approximately 40 km outside of Yantai, we entered the second-largest apple growing region in China, Shandong Province, where 27% of all Chinese apples are grown. Production of apples for other provinces include Shanxi, 7%; Shaanxi, 25%; Gansu, 5%; Hebei, 9%; and remaining provinces 27.The Shandong area would be similar to New York from the... |
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09/30/10Vietnam: A Land of Mopeds and Growing Cherry ConsumptionThe cherry crop in the Northwest continues to expand and growers will continue to need new markets and new segments in order to remain viable. With this fact in mind, I was able to spend the past eight days on a market development trip to Vietnam. Northwest Cherry Growers Director of International Business Development, Keith Hu, and I felt the time was right to look at Vietnam as a potential market for NWCG promotional activity. Prior to the 2010 cherry season, we have been monitoring the quickly evolving middle class situation in Vietnam and the steady growth of the Washington Apple market there. Of course, these indicators are two of several that are required to be in place for a market to expand … others being a cold chain that can accommodate the highly perishable sweet... |
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09/20/10Asian Trade Tour, Week Two
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09/15/10Washington Governor's Tour to AsiaWashington State Governor Christine Gregoire is taking a group of agriculture representatives on a trade mission to Asia this week and next. This photo shows apple and potato commissioners and support personnel in Sci-tech Beijing with the state's ag director. Sci-tech is a high-end retailer. Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover will be sending updates throughout the trip as opportunity provides. Also, B.J. Thurlbey, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission will join the group in Vietnam and intends to add to the discussion in this "Out of the Orchard" blog. |
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09/02/10Washington's Export Outlook for 2010-2011Recent travels to Chicago to attend the USApple Outlook conference have provided optimistic insights into the export opportunity, or more accurately ‘competition’, for Washington apples this season. Presenters from several countries provided apple estimates allowing for a global outlook on supplies:EU down 11% China down 4%Mexico down 10% Canada down 1.1%US East Region down 14% US Midwest Region down 35%US West Region up 4%[All volumes in comparison to 2009]At first glance, it appears several of Washington State’s important export markets should have less domestic-grown apples providing opportunities for us. With the EU 27 showing a decreased crop volume, I anticipate Russia being an excellent destination for large Washington apples. In addition, Polish... |
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09/02/10Past, Present and Future Innovations in the Produce IndustryRecently I participated in a survey conducted by a major produce magazine to identify the most important innovations that have shaped the industry in the past 25 years as well as those that will shape the future. They will use the survey results in an upcoming issue of their magazine. Below is what I submitted.It is hard to rank them in order; those I mentioned have been important for certain segment of the industry and may be more important for some than others.Category Management (UPC/PLU) - This has been a good and bad area of influence. It has helped retailers track their inventory and even reduce their labor pool at the buying level, but has hurt some growers by adding costs. For example, costs of the plu stickers are passed on to the grower. It has also reduced... |
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08/27/10Eleventh Hour ResolutionNorth East apple growers dodged a bullet this week, when a resolution to the stalled and bogged down Jamaican H2A program was finally announced by Senator Leahy's (Vermont) office. The announcement of the resolution was made after industry leaders and elected officials worked tirelessly for the last few weeks to 'fix' the system.Apple growers began receiving RFE's (request for more evidence), from the U.S. Customs Immigration Service earlier this summer, requesting more information on applications. Until the RFE's were answered, applications were being either denied, or returned. The issue was that the U.S. State Department, because of the new Administrations H2A rules, had reclassified the Jamaican Center Labor Organization from a government agency to a labor contractor, and imposed... |
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08/20/10Lower Worldwide Pear Supplies ExpectedRecent news from the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) show a 19% projected decline in pear production in the European Union (E.U.), making this year’s crop potentially the lowest in a decade. Closer to home, the Pacific Northwest pear crop is projected to see an 11% decrease. Factoring in California’s lower crop expectations and the U.S. fresh pear production may see a 15% decline compared to last season. This world supply scenario is good news for pear growers in the Northwest.While the Northwest production is only 2% lower than the five-year average, when you include California’s lower crop, the U.S. fresh pear production is expected to be 3% below the five-year average. However, the lower crops in Europe are what make the production picture more... |
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08/12/10Retail Executives Enjoy a Taste of Peach HarvestAs harvest of the region’s 13-million-plus-box cherry crop begins to wind down, peach and nectarine growers are just starting to pick up steam in their campaign to pick a soft fruit crop that will run through September this year.In an effort to showcase the 2010 crop, the staff at the Washington State Fruit Commission hosted a group of retail executives from around the United States and Canada this week. The retail group consisted of directors of produce, head merchandisers and buyers that represent over 2,000 grocery stores. The fruit looked great and most importantly … tasted amazing. The group was able to visit orchards and packing houses from Pasco to Yakima. And, as always, principals and key sales and marketing personnel did a great job of showing our guests the... |
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08/12/10Powered by Cherries…the Chicago MarathonThis year's tart cherry marketing plan will kick off in October at the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We're excited to showcase cherries and the "Powered by Red" benefits to more than 125,000 athletes and fitness enthusiasts—and in the third-largest media market in the nation—with the help of our powerful cherry advocates.Building on the successful 2010 Red Recovery activation at marathons across the country, we plan to re-introduce the Red Recovery Routine and share how choosing cherries can be a powerful way to relieve muscle soreness and boost recovery post run. Tart Cherry Processors and Marketers will be able to get involved in the Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo (October 8-9) and showcase the many tart cherry products.Marathons have been a... |
