Exports of Pacific Northwest cherries to Taiwan have slowed due to the fruit being held longer in quarantine to check for violations of minimum residue levels of pesticides, according to Northwest Cherry Growers president BJ Thurlby.
A quarter of all shipments is being held for three to four days and slowing the market down, he told Capital Press.
'Taiwan is an 800,000-box market, but it won't be this year,' Mr Thurlby said. 'If we end up with 500,000, it will be a positive.'
Taiwan has strict conditions relating to pesticide residue levels for imported fruit, and the country recently blocked 1.5 tonnes of California cherries for exceeding the prescribed levels.
