February 2020 - 35

CHERRY MARKETING INSTITUTE
Trade setbacks, marketing initiatives keep CMI busy
JULIE GORDON
President/Managing
Director
JGordon@usacherries.com
As we begin a new year it's hard not to
look back and reflect on the things that
went well and not so well in the previous
year. Trade is the imprint that has left a
mark on the minds of many, especially
those in the cherry industry.
As the trade war started with China,
affecting many commodity groups across
the U.S., the tart cherry industry had
already started to fight back against unfair
trade practices in Turkey.
The last two year's great strides have
been made as our industry pulled together
to combat unfair trade practices. The
Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI) has
made many trips to Washington, D.C., and
many members of Congress have stepped
up to support us during this journey. The
International Trade Commission (ITC)
had a final hearing in its investigation
of whether Turkey has been unfairly
hampering our farmers' ability to compete
by subsidizing their growers.
Unfortunately, the ITC's final decision
on Jan. 14 was to not institute tariffs
against Turkish tart cherry exporters,
which have been dumping low-quality
dried cherries into U.S. markets - creating
a trade imbalance that has undermined
Michigan cherry growers.
The final determination was contrary to
the ITC's initial decision to institute tariffs
and the U.S. Department of Commerce's
determination that Turkish exporters
used unfair trade practices. Last year,
the Dried Tart Cherry Trade Committee
filed anti-dumping and countervailing
duty petitions with the ITC and U.S.
Department of Commerce.
New staffer added
The first of the year, the cherry
industry had to say goodbye to the
retired Phil Korson. He was without
a doubt a pioneer of an array of
accomplishments over the four decades
he served the industry. His shoes will
be hard to fill, however, I'm excited to
announce that CMI hired a new grower
relation director, Kyle Harris. He is
a bright young man with nine years
of experience as a legislative staffer,
assisting Michigan residents with issues
involving government agencies and
working on public policy.
Harris is in his fourth year as a
member of the Saginaw County Board
of Commissioners, a director atlarge
with the Michigan Association
of Counties, serving on the
Agriculture and Tourism Committee,
Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, and a former chair on the
General Government Committee. As
well, Harris currently sits on the
Michigan Department of Ag's Generally
Accepted Agricultural and Management
Practices (GAAMP) review committee
for farm markets.
He is eager to learn as much as he can
about all aspects of CMI and the cherry
industry. Harris holds a bachelor of arts
in public administration with a minor
in economics from Saginaw Valley State
University. He is pursuing a master's
degree in public administration at
Central Michigan University.
Recipe for success
On the promotion front, with the
uptick of online searches for holiday
recipes and trend reports revealing
that sour flavors dominate emerging
food trends, the tart cherry promotion
program recently focused efforts on
delicious recipes to show that U.S.
Montmorency tart cherries deserve a
place at the holiday table.
As consumers shift away from sweet
and explore more sour offerings, the
digital campaign highlighted the
on-trend, sweet-sour taste of U.S.
Montmorency tart cherries. The
ads were featured on major social
media platforms including Facebook,
Instagram and Pinterest. The industry
also targeted those searching on
Pinterest for " healthy Christmas
desserts " and " holiday recipes " by
serving them with U.S. Montmorency
tart cherry recipes relevant to their
search query. The holiday effort reached
more than 3 million consumers in
total, with more than 1 million of those
consumers interacting with the posts
through " likes, " comments, shares and
video views.
In addition to the digital ads, the
industry also held a " flavor lab " in
New York City for top news editors to
experience the unique flavor of tart
cherries. More than 20 editors attended
the two-day media event where a chef
and registered dietitian walked them
through a guided tasting of all U.S.
Montmorency tart cherry product
forms to experience the sweet-sour
taste firsthand.
Domestic market emphasis
Looking ahead, the industry continues
to explore ways to differentiate from
imported products and remain
competitive in the marketplace.
Knowing that, our target audiences
are seeking not imported products,
but it's often difficult to distinguish
domestic from imported tart cherries
on the shelf, the industry is conducting
research to determine the best way to
market domestic product, specifically
on product labels.
In January, the industry conducted
focus groups to determine the best
terminology and graphics that
communicate U.S. origin on tart cherry
products. The results of the research
will be compiled and distributed to the
industry later this year.
We are committed to push as hard
as we can in 2020 to level the playing
field with imports, expand our exports
and work hard for a strong return on
investment for both our domestic and
international marketing programs.
In closing this month, I would like
to share a special thank you to Cherry
Republic for including CMI in its 31
days of giving. A $5,000 donation was
made toward the trade cost in the
dumping case with Turkey.
Bob Southerland, owner of Cherry
Republic, has been a positive voice for
cherry growers for many years building
his entire business around the state's
most notable fruit. Thank you, Bob,
for your dedication to the U.S. cherry
industry! FGN
Plants Directly From
the Grower
State of Michigan
Certified " Virus-tested " Blueberries
22+ varieties of highbush
10+ varieties of low to
high-highbush
Cranberries
76241 14th
Ave., South Haven, MI
269-637-3915
www.degrandchamps.com
sales@degrandchamps.com
CATALOG AVAILABLE
ON THE WEBSITE!
FGN | FEBRUARY 2020 | 35
Family
Owned Since
1958
http://www.degrandchamps.com
February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020
