Okanagan cherries on their way to Korea

It's an Okanagan cherry exporting coup.

After seven years of preparation by the BC Cherry Association and Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the first cherries are off to Korea.

Korea wanted exhaustive information on how cherries are grown in the Okanagan and how the fruit is packed before it negotiated an agreement to accept our cherries.

Korea, like other Asian markets, appreciates firm and delicious cherries grown in the Okanagan's pristine environment.

Two Kelowna companies, Northern Cherries and Jealous Fruits, are the first to export cherries to Korea this month.

The two companies stepped up all this summer to do careful pest monitoring and detailed reporting to satisfy Korean entry requirements.

These first shipments will be on a trial basis so that the Korean and Canadian governments can get a sense of what's involved and fine tune the export-import relationship.

The pilot program is expected to be a success and pave the way for full access to Korea next year with cherries from across Canada.

"This announcement and this year's pilot program would not have happened without the efforts of these people," said BC Cherry Association president Sukhpaul Bal.

"The growers carried out all sorts of extra work with no guarantee that they could ship their fruit this year. And the Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff working on the portfolio went above and beyond to ensure we all met requirements for market access, with their people working evenings and weekends to ensure everything went smoothly."

While some cherries are grown in Ontario's Niagara region, 95% of Canada's sweet cherries are grown in BC's Okanagan, Similkameen and Creston valleys.

The valleys, with their long, hot, dry summers at higher latitudes followed by a sustained winter dormant period, are ideal for cherry growing.

In addition, the valleys have low pest and disease levels.

All combined it means cherries that are pristine, firm and delicious and in high demand.

The cherries on their way to Korea will be late-ripening varieties.

Traditionally, the cherry season is short lived in the late spring and early summer.

However, late-ripening means fresh cherries are now also available through August and September.

Jealous Fruits also exports to the US, China and Hong Kong.

Jealous Fruits is owned and operated by David Geen, who is known as Canada's cherry king, because he has the largest plantings of the fruit over 900 acres.

Those 900 acres are almost one-fifth of BC's entire 5,000 acres.

BC cherry production is generally around 16,000 tons per year with an economic impact of $300 million.

That acreage, tonnage and impact is growing because some apple orchardists are pulling out apples to put in cherries because they are a more lucrative cash crops that's in high demand.

BC exported $79 million worth of cherries in 2021 and this year's number is expected to be $90 million.