Cherries and Tariffs Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. As the second Trump Administration gets rolling in the new year, many in agriculture are watching to see just how things play out for trade.
BJ Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, says it’s kind of a game of wait and see …
THURLBY … “On one side you’ve kind of got the sunshine out, hoping that there’s a new stance on agriculture and we might be coming a little bit more empowered, which would be wonderful. We’re certainly, I think, our grower base is all hoping for that.”
The tariff situation, Thurlby says is probably the biggest worry at this point …
THURLBY … “How do the tariff situations shake out if that becomes reality? That’s a really tough one for us to try and gauge. You know, we’re already in a situation where we’re being tariffed 50% in China from the last time this President was running our country. And then the next President wasn’t able to do anything to improve that scenario, so we’re happy to kind of be back where we’re at at this point. Because maybe there’s a shot there that we end up with some new agreements and less tariffing in China.”
But, Thurlby says China isn’t the only export market for our growers …
THURLBY … “Cherries, if you look at our biggest growth markets the last five years, you’re going to find that it’s Viet Nam and then right behind Viet Nam is Mexico.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on what Mexico could mean for cherry exports.
