This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
China visit encouraging


By Judie Steeves A


fter five years of effort to sell B.C. cherries in China, Okanagan growers felt


encouraged after a trade visit to the country in January.


Lake Country cherry grower David Geen of Coral Beach Farms, along with Peachland grower Clive Sutherland and cherry broker Andre Bailey of Creston travelled to China for a week of meetings, representing B.C. growers.


It’s the first such delegation sent by industry, and Geen said he felt very encouraged by how the talks went.


Although official negotiations were conducted by staff from Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency with their counterparts in China, local growers met with importers in China who would benefit from cherry trade with Canada.


It was felt their lobbying pressure from inside China would be helpful in convincing officials to re-consider some of the sanctions demanded in last year’s talks, particularly the punishing requirement that B.C. cherries undergo a 15-day cold treatment once the fresh fruit arrives in China.


It’s a blanket protocol put in place to protect that country’s fruit from Mediterranean fruit fly, which we don’t have here. Yet, there’s no indication that treatment works on other fly species, said Geen. He said government negotiators were also encouraged by how the talks went in January.


One meeting that was scheduled for two hours went on for five hours, for instance, he noted.


There was some agreement that the cold treatment may not be an appropriate protocol, so the Chinese requested more technical


information on Canadian treatments. Cherries are a commodity the two country’s governments have agreed to work on opening up trade to, and they seem interested in seeing it happen, said Geen.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Spring 2013 15


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32