Washington Apples to India
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. India could be a significant market of Washington apples if not for, you guessed it, tariffs.
To that end, Representative Dan Newhouse sent a letter calling on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to elevate Washington apple access by reducing those tariffs ...
NEWHOUSE ... "India is proving to be a very good market for Washington apples, but with the tariff currently at 70%, it essentially excludes Washington apples out of that market."
Newhouse says losing India would be another big hit ...
NEWHOUSE ... "With the uncertainty in the world that we are facing today with many of our trading partners, this would be just a tremendous upset to our apple markets without India."
As for the letter, Newhouse says ...
NEWHOUSE ... "I can tell you that the conversation, the letter that we sent to the Trade Representative was met very favorably and that I'm very hopeful that the access to India for Washington apples will be at the top of their list of
priorities in their negotiations with India."
He says it's a market they will not ignore ...
NEWHOUSE ... "It's critical and I tried to express that to them, not only in the letter but in private conversation, how important this is and the impact of not getting it done. And so, we will be working with them very closely to make this happen."
Newhouse says the actions by India to increase tariffs on U.S. apples to 70% is a damaging situation that will impact thousands of jobs throughout Washington state.
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BL: Welcome back to another "Fruit Bites" brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us again is Valent's Allison Walston. And this week Allison, brings the 2019 Fruit Bite Season to a close.
AW: Yes, we are signing off for 2019 and will return in March of 2020. That sounds so futuristic. Bob & I'll return then with more interesting factoids & stories about fruit (and bugs).
BL: what was your favorite episode?
AW: my favorite is still the drunken cherries from last season. But for this season, the one about mites. Mites are fascinating and it should have been a multi-week. Actually, I could probably talk about insects every week. What about your favorite episode?
BL: *favorite episode*
AW: Good one. Please remember to support your local fruit growers, try some new varieties, and if you have a topic for us, send me an email at allisonwalston@valent.com. Again, thank you for listening.
BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I'm Bob Larson.
