Northwest cherry growers will be served by a new service to China this season thanks to a collaboration between online giant Alibaba, China Eastern Air Group and Northwest Cherry Growers.
The Cherry Express cargo plane will fly from Seattle to Shanghai several times a week from 18 June, from where it will be delivered direct to customers’ doors.
According to Keith Hu from Northwest Cherry Growers, delivery times to Chinese consumers will be faster than to consumers on the East Coast of the US.
“It will take 48 hours, two days, for consumers in Shanghai, Beijing, Shengzhen and Guangzhou to receive those cherries,” he told Northwest News Network.
China receives around 10 per cent of the Northwest cherry crop, which this year is expected to weigh in at 230,000 tonnes.
