Valuing Our Ag Exports

With the influx of imports shaking the foundation of the tree fruit industry, a premier well marketed product could become the saving grace for tree fruit farmers. The reputation of Northwest apples, pears and cherries is being used as a stepping stone for establishing valuable new export markets as faraway as India. In fact one international consulting firm ranked India first as an emerging market saying it represents "the most compelling international investment opportunity for food retailers looking to expand overseas". Time is of the essence, as it is imperative we established American brand awareness and develop a better system for handling, transporting and storing fruit in developing countries before China begins tapping at their door. It is remarkable that last year, even without a means of transporting apples into the center of India, exporting apples to just port locations alone equaled about 3 percent of Washington States total apple export. .I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought