Cherry, apple growers: tariffs are the pits

"We started to develop the Chinese market about 11 years ago, from zero to over 33,000 tons last year," said Keith Hu, international program director for the Northwest Cherry Growers. "We continue to see the growth especially in the second-tier cities. We have established the first-tier cities pretty well. We're looking for 10 second-tier key cities in inner China for growth. The Chinese market is important."

Hu thought it was too early to predict the impact of the tariffs, but it will make the US cherry less competitive. Data from China Customs indicate that China imported 102,000 tons of cherries valued at $770 million in 2017. In 2017, cherries from eight countries were imported into China — in order of market share — Chile, US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.

"Last year, we shipped just over 3 million 20-pound boxes of cherries in June, July and August to China and the value was right in the $130 million range. My growers are at a point what they need every single market they can get and having a market as great as China slowed down by tariffs is concerning," Northwest Cherry Growers president B.J. Thurlby said.

"I have worked for 11 years in the Chinese market, to build the consumers' trust behind our products and I think we've done that. The frustrating part is that I feel the consumers in China will be the ones who have to pay prices as well. I also care about my friends in China," Thurlby said.