Okanagan cherries are one step closer to being on the shelves of luxury food markets in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, as co-operative efforts between the governments of British Columbia and Canada continue to make progress in accessing the Chinese marketplace.
An agreement signed between the governments of Canada and China in Beijing this week commits the two countries to work on access for a number of specific Canadian foods, including cherries. British Columbia produced 94 per cent of Canada’s sweet cherries in 2010, with top export markets including Taiwan and Hong Kong.
“We are very pleased to see this progress on access to China for B.C. cherries. A final agreement has the potential to immediately garner $10 million or more in cherry sales to China,” said Christine Dendy, a director of the Okanagan Kootenay Cherry Growers Association. In 2010, B.C. growers exported about $29 million worth of cherries, including more than $7.5 million to Taiwan and $5 million to Hong Kong.
As part of the BC Jobs Plan, the provincial government is focusing on building export markets for B.C. food, encouraging international consumers look to B.C. for high-quality and trusted foods. Don McRae, B.C.’s minister of agriculture, said expanding exports to asian markets is a key theme of the new Agrifoods Strategy, which is expected to be released this spring.
“B.C.’s excellent farm products are already in high demand in China. This clearly shows the importance of the additional cargo flights to and from YVR,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom. “This agreement signed between the governments of Canada and China is an exciting step forward to opening more markets in Asia.”
In July 2011, Canada’s first dedicated cargo flights to Mainland China began from YVR to Shanghai. The three-times-per-week flights typically deliver B.C. seafood and could also carry cherries and other fresh foods. B.C. has set record exports of agrifood products to China in each of the last three years, with exports topping $100 million for the first time ever in 2010.
