Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/459886
6 FEBRUARY 15, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com T he announcement that U.S. orchardists will be able to ship all varieties of apples to China, starting this season, comes as a bright spot in an otherwise challenging marketing year. U.S. trade officials announced the opening of the market on January 26 during bilateral trade talks between the two countries in San Francisco, California. U.S. producers have been allowed to ship Red and Golden Delicious apples to China for the past 20 years but, until now, China has refused to accept other varieties. Golden Delicious is not a popular variety in China, so the vast majority of U.S. apples exported there so far have been Reds. "The industry needs a little bit of good news," said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, noting that exports have been affected by a labor dispute at U.S. West Coast ports, which has slowed the loading and unload- ing of ships. In addition, the Washington industry has been dealing with an anti-dumping case filed by Mexico, its largest export market, which it is feared could lead to duties on apples going to Mexico. A stronger dollar has added to the challenges by increasing the cost of U.S. apples abroad. Dr. Mike Willett, vice president for scientific affairs for the Northwest Horticultural Council, who attended the bilateral talks, said the agreement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture officials reached with their Chinese counterparts appears to be very workable for U.S. and Northwest apple export- ers and should help them strengthen their foothold in the Chinese market. The original workplan for Red and Golden Delicious will remain in effect until the end of the 2014-15 crop year, and a new one will be put in place for other varieties for the rest of the season. Next season, all varieties will be shipped under a new protocol, which will be less restric- tive as it will not require a cold treatment for codling moth. Willett said the pest is spreading in China so that country can no longer claim to be free of codling moth. Northwest Fruit Exporters will coordi- nate the operational aspects of the export program. The agreement with China was recip- rocal, with the U.S. government granting Chinese apple producers access to the U.S. market. Fryhover said Apple Commission's board members think the impact of imports will be very small as there is strong demand for apples in China, and China has been exporting fewer apples even while its production has been increasing. Red Delicious Traditionally, half of Washington's Red Delicious crop is exported. It's an iconic variety because no other region of the world grows anything comparable, Fryhover said, and it's been popular in Asia because the color red symbolizes wealth and prosperity. As its popularity has waned on the domestic market, the need to export the variety has increased. Washington produced a bumper crop of 46 million boxes of Red Delicious in 2014—because of perfect growing conditions, not additional acreage—and Fryhover had been hop- ing about two-thirds of them would be exported. Fryhover believes Chinese consum- ers want new apple varieties. About 70 percent of China's domestic production is Fuji. As the population becomes more affl uent, people want to try high-quality foods with new fl avors. U.S. producers have a good reputation for food safety, which is important to them as well. • China accepts all varieties of U.S. apples ONLINE A version of this story originally appeared on goodfruit.com. The reciprocal agreement will allow China to ship apples into the U.S. by Geraldine Warner TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER ILLUSTRATION "The industry needs a little bit of good news." —Todd Fryhover