Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/53575
® WIND MACHINES— Northwest cherry exports in 2011 Where did they go? Latin America (2%) Southeast Asia (3%) Misc. World (0%) United Kingdom (4%) Europe (3%) Australia/New Zealand (6%) Japan (5%) Korea (6%) We've been able to pick up 7 to 8 degrees with a good inversion layer frost The standard by which all others are measured We've been farming for 3 generations, and for 30 years we've been exclusively tree fruit. About 4 years ago we put in our first Orchards Rite® Canada (40%) fan and have since added 2 more. Before we put in Taiwan (12%) Hong Kong/China (19%) SOURCE: Northwest Cherry Growers China and Hong Kong Northwest cherry exports to China and Hong Kong have skyrocketed in the last five years—nearly quadru- pling in the number of shipped boxes—to make the region the number-two export market after Canada. Canada has imported an average of around 1.7 millions boxes of Northwest cherries in the last five years. In 2011, exports to China and Hong Kong topped the million- box mark for the first time, compared with around 300,000 boxes shipped there in 2007, said Philander Fan, Northwest Cherry representative. China is experiencing rapid expansion of retail chains in second- and third-tier cities, Fan said. The number of importers is increasing, and marketers and consumers are more knowledgeable about Rainier cherries, all of which bode well for a continued strong market. Constraints in the Chinese market are high tariffs and competition from Chinese, California, and Canadian cherries. Taiwan Taiwan, the number-three Northwest cherry export market, imported more than 666,000 boxes of Northwest cherries last year. Taiwanese are some of the highest fresh-fruit consumers in the world, and they like their fruit sweet, said Hermann Kuo, Northwest Cherry Grow- ers representative for Taiwan. Market constraints include strong competition from high-quality local fruit; hot summer weather that makes cherry handling and storage difficult; intense competi- tion among supermarkets that use cherries as a loss- leader item; and redirection of shipments to China due to better profit margins. But Kuo sees opportunities due to a growing interest in health and consumers who want quality products. Korea When Ken Yang started as a Northwest Cherry Growers representative for Korea some eight years ago, annual Northwest cherry exports were around 50,000 boxes. Last year, more than 350,000 boxes were shipped to Korea, a country that's equivalent in size to the state of Indiana but with 49 million people and some 20 million that use smartphones, he said. Yang noted that the Korea Free Trade Agreement, approved last year, will eliminate the 24 percent tariff on fresh cherries and help make cherries more affordable for consumers, reducing the cost of 200 grams of cherries from the current 9,990 won to around 7,525 won. Cherries are the second-most expensive fruit during the summer season behind blueberries. (continued on page 12) www.goodfruit.com these machines, we never had a full crop in the valley acreage, where we typically will be around 25-28 degrees on some nights. With these machines we've been able to pick up 7 to 8 degrees with a good strong inversion layer. Since we put in these machines, we've had a full crop most years. We've had apples when some of the neighbors didn't have any. When we're ready, we'll certainly be going back to Orchard Rite® them!" to add new machines. We're a firm believer in Mike VanAgtmael VanAgtmael Orchards Hart, Michigan They paid for themselves in one year We farm 150 acres of Pistachios at an elevation of 4,500 feet. In February, we put in nine Orchard Rite® Wind Machines and in April our temperatures dropped to as low as 25 and 26 degrees on three different nights. I'm sure we would have lost 80% of our crop this spring without our wind machines. They lit- erally paid for themselves in one year. We like the Ford V-10 engine with the auto start option and have found with a good inversion we can consistently bring the temperature up 3-5 degrees, sometimes even 7 degrees. It's a no brainer to use wind machines in this part of the country. Almost all of the Pistachio farmers in our area use Orchard Rite® Wind Machines. When it comes to frost pro- tection, I don't know of anything that performs as well as wind machines. Don Fortman Wilcox, AZ Let us help you solve your unique frost control needs. 1615 W. Ahtanum • Yakima, WA 98903 • 509-248-8785, ext. 612 For the representative nearest you, visit our website: www.orchard-rite.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER FEBRUARY 1, 2012 11