Washington apples headed to India
Travis Hallman, Oneonta Trading Corporation, left, and Washington Apple Commission president Todd Fryhover with a shipment of apples from Starr Ranch bound for India.
COURTESY PHOTO/WASHINGTON APPLE COMMISSION
WENATCHEE — One of the first loads of apples to be shipped to India after the end of tariffs was sent off in style Sept. 14.
The shipment followed the removal of 20% tariffs on American agricultural products, which were lifted in early September. Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, visited Starr Ranch Growers to see the company’s first truck carrying Washington Red Delicious apples begin the trip to India.
“All Washington growers want is the opportunity to compete on equal terms in foreign markets,” Fryhover said. “This shipment is significant because it symbolizes our ability to do that.”
A WAC press release expressed gratitude to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and the Northwest Horticulture Council for their efforts to remove the tariffs, which were imposed in 2017. They followed tariffs imposed on Indian products by the then-Trump Administration.
“Today we saw that hard work pay off,” the press release said.