WASHINGTON STATE —Apple growers in Washington are speaking out about the potential impacts to their operations amid stalled trade talks between the U.S. and Canada.
Farm technology expert Arthur Erickson believes farmers may feel the first ripple effects, from supply chain disruptions to rising costs for equipment.
Many of the farmers we work with have been feeling rising input costs, meaning their margins, profits, revenue, and everything in general are getting squeezed,” Erickson explained. “There’s a lot of stuff we can’t control in the industry. We can’t control a trade war.
With dairy being the second largest agricultural commodity in the state behind apples, the Washington State Dairy Federation (WSDF)has saidan ongoing challenge is the existing tariffs on U.S. dairy exports that make Washington dairies less competitive in Canada.
Washington apple packerManson Growershas been operating for six decades and exports produce to as many as 20 countries a year, including Canada.
I think as we’re looking at global trade negotiations, we’ve seen up to an 80% decrease in trade for apples, pears, and cherries to countries like China and India, and so obviously, healthy trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico are important to us,” Manson Growers President Jared England explained. “We’ve seen trade negotiations with many of our customers and clients across the globe. Many of those have resulted in more positive tariffs for our industry. However, we have recognized that sometimes these negotiations take some time.Manson Growers does not anticipate these stalled talks to impact apple prices in stores in the short term. At grocery stores, the Washington State Food Industry Association clarifies that for now, shoppers will likely not see an extra increase to the cost of food.
트위터 공유: 무역협상 지연에 흔들리는 워싱턴 사과농가