1 of 3
Cherries to China
2 of 3
Chinese Market
3 of 3
Christine Dendy
BC Cherry Association chair Christine Dendy, a Kelowna cherry grower.
This summer will be a critical time for cherry growers, as the Chinese government ponders opening the door to imports of BC grown cherries.
Last year, after seven years of negotiations, China launched a pilot project importing about 400 tons of cherries under strictly supervised conditions.
April Ingraham of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says two Chinese inspectors were sent to the Okanagan to supervise and inspect all shipments, and more importantly, to establish the rules under which cherry exports could take place.
While the pilot was successful, Ingraham says the Chinese are extremely strict about produce coming into their country, and the program will be extended this year.
"It is unfortunate because we thought we would be done with the pilot program last year, and we would be exporting to China this year," said Ingraham. "We really thought we had satisfied their needs last year ... but I guess not."
So, the bad news is it will be yet another year before China opens the door more than a crack. The good news, says Ingraham, is that the door is still open at all.
"If we pave the way this year with a few participants (growers and packing houses), and we are successful with that, then we can do a lot more next year," Ingraham told a packed house at the BC Cherry Association's annual general meeting.
The primary concern for China is the danger of importing North American pests that they do not currently have to deal with, like the Black Cherry Fruit Fly or the Western Cherry Fruit Fly.
For that reason, the Chinese inspectors arriving this year will spend two weeks or more in the Okanagan, making sure that very strict conditions are met. Among them:
- traps will be set throughout participating orchards for the pests they are concerned about;
- a local coordinator will count how many fruit flies and other relevant pests are caught in each orchard;
- if a certain threshold is reached, that orchard may be banned for exporting for the year;
- loading docks must be hermetically sealed between the transport truck and the dock, to prevent insects flying in;
- once packed, the fruit must be kept in a sealed, pest proof building;
- all packing houses must be GAP certified. (Good Agricultural Practices; see gapcertification.com for more detailed information).
Orchards do not have to be GAP certified, but Ingraham says the requirements are strict enough that they approach the same level required by GAP.
While the requirements may be onerous, BC Cherry Association chair Christine Dendy, a Kelowna cherry grower, says the benefits are well worth it.
"In general, prices for cherries in China will be much, much higher than we can get locally," Dendy told Orchard and Vine. During her presentation to the Association members, Dendy showed one picture where a pound of cherries was being sold for $109 Hong Kong dollars, or $15.56 Canadian.
"Cherries are a luxury and an expensive commodity, especially when they are shipped by air freight," she said.
Dendy took part in the first year of the pilot last summer, shipping out two pallets of dark red and scrupulously inspected cherries with the sticker she had waited seven years to see: "For Export to China."
Dendy told growers the China market presents a great new opportunity for B.C. growers. If the pilot is successful this year, by next year exports to China are expected to reach $10 million in sales, or about 25 per cent of all B.C. cherry sales. That figure is expected to double within the next five years.
"We are hopeful 2014 will involve a simpler (inspection) regimen, and the intent is by 2015 Canada will have a permanent regimen for shipping to China," Dendy said. "It may have been a bit onerous, but it is a very small investment for the great benefits of this initiative."
BC has a particular advantage in shipping to China, as cherries ripen here just in time for major Chinese events like the Moon Harvest Festival. That festival is the same kind of windfall for cherry growers in China as Christmas is for turkeys in North America. Last year, air-shipped 5 kilogram boxes of cherries were selling for $102 Cdn for the festival in mid-September.
The other reason this deal is important is that cherry growers are paving the way for other fruit growers in BC. When the program was launched, Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm explained the pilot is also intended to provide an inspection protocol that gives all fruit growers sustained access to the massive Chinese market.
"The breakthrough with cherries is going to lead us well into other crop exports,"Pimm said, adding blueberries will likely be the next crops going through the process.
Right now, CFIA is taking applications from farmers and packing houses that want to be part of this year's pilot program. Ingraham urged all applicants to get their applications in early. ■
