Korean FTA Boosts Cherries

Korean FTA Boosts Cherries. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

As of yesterday the Korean Free Trade Agreement went into full effect and the phone on BJ Thurlby’s desk has been ringing. Cherry farmers want to know how this will effect their product and bottom line.

THURLBY: You know for the cherry growers it’s a positive because “A” we have access to the market and “B” it’s one of our fastest growing and best export markets out there so right away this free trade agreement has impact here in the valley on our cherry growers. The big issue is that Korea is dropping a 24% tariff that exists on cherries and we’ve been dealing with it since we broke into that market in 2005.

With that 24% tariff gone, how will that affect the local cherry grower?

THURLBY: In a perfect market vacuum we would see an increase right away of 24% of volume on our cherries as a result of this drop. But of course in the real world that’s not how it works. There’s other variables that come to play and one of the big ones of course is how does the U.S. dollar measure up to the Korean won during this season? What does the size of this year’s crop appear to be relative to supply and demand?

He says that these unknowns will fall into place.

THURLBY: Last year we shipped 350-thousand boxes to Korea and we’re hoping for a growth close to 400-thousand this year if we have a crop that’s big enough to accommodate that.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.