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Saturday, Jul. 04, 2009

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Rule makes shipping cherries to Japan easier

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Shipping fresh Washington cherries to Japan just became easier and less expensive, Gov. Chris Gregoire and Washington Department of Agriculture Director Dan Newhouse have announced.

Cherry growers won't have to fumigate the fruit any longer before sending it to Japan, said Jim Archer, manager of Northwest Fruit Exporters in Yakima.

Fumigating is expensive and reduces fruit's shelf life, he said.

"We are pleased to have an approval for an inspections protocol," he said.

Japan recently agreed to an inspections protocol in place of mandatory pest treatment, Newhouse said.

Under the new agreement, cherry shipments into the country that have been certified free of pests by American and Japanese inspectors at the border will be allowed in the country, he said.

That means cherries won't have to be sent via air-freight, which is costly, Newhouse said. Inspected fruit will have a longer shelf life, which will allow shippers to use cargo ships and provide a better product to Japanese consumers.

For years, the Japanese were concerned about codling moths, an orchard insect pest, coming in with cherries. But research has shown that Washington cherries don't pose that risk, Newhouse said.

Washington growers can immediately ship their freshly picked cherries to Japan under the new protocol.

Growers had been anticipating this, but there were some last-minute hitches that delayed the implementation of the agreement before the June start of cherry harvest, Newhouse said.

The new agreement is expected to increase cherry exports to Japan, Archer said.

Washington is the nation's leading producer of sweet cherries, with this year's crop expected to reach nearly 200,000 tons. In 2007, Washington growers produced $327 million in cherries, with a record $29 million in sales to Japan

The agreement also benefits cherry growers in Oregon.



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