Cherries and Tariffs Pt 2

Cherries and Tariffs Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. With the new administration in office, what will happen with the trade markets in the coming months and years? Not an easy answer.

Northwest Cherry Growers President, BJ Thurlby says Mexico is now our second biggest growth export market in recent years behind Viet Nam …

THURLBY … “Mexico has become an important market for the cherry growers. Is it as important as our apple business where we’re shipping 15 to 16 million boxes there? No, it is not at this point.”

But, Thurlby says the Mexican market has a lot of potential …

THURLBY … “Maybe, at some point, we think Mexico can be a million or two box market for us. They have a lot of mouths to feed down there, and they’ve got a developing economy where the middle class is starting to really show up and develop down there. So, we like Mexico, we don’t want to lose that to some tariff scenario.”

Thurlby hopes the President’s tariff threats are kept to a minimum for agriculture …

THURLBY … “You know, our hope is that, so to speak, we get responses from between the United States and Mexico where, if there is going to be some type of trade war, that it’s more about specific products. If it’s chips for computer, let’s keep it in the technology world and not turn around and tax apples. You know, that would be a perfect world for us, where we see like industries, if they have issues, let’s let them work it out.”

Thurlby says we’ll see how this shakes out, but, fingers crossed, hopes they don’t lose any export markets.

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