A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Trees & Vines
Farm sells its ‘export-quality’ cherries to Americans By Ching Lee A crew loads harvested cherries from Chinchiolo Farming Co. in San Joaquin County during the 2023 season. The farm markets some of its “export-quality” fruit directly to U.S. customers through its website and ships the cherries to people’s homes.
the world, with Canada, South Korea, Mexico and Japan being leading export destinations, according to the California Cherry Board. That’s about 2.8 million 18-pound cartons of the stone fruit last year. Domestically, the Golden State remains the largest market for California cherries, gobbling up some 1.4 million cartons last year. Other top U.S. markets include New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania. Chinchiolo said the idea for his direct-to-consumer business spawned during the early days of the pandemic in 2020 when logistics challenges and supply chain disruptions led to concerns about whether airlines would be able to fly the highly perishable fruit to places such as Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. “I thought, gosh, you better find another market for these cherries,” Chinchiolo recalled. Pivoting to direct sales was a common move for farms with perishable goods during the pandemic. Some developed their own websites to take customer orders. Others partnered with farms that already sold subscription produce boxes, offering either on-farm pickup or home delivery. While some of those farms have since gone back to marketing their crops through more traditional channels as life returned to normal, Chinchiolo has expanded his direct-sales cherry business. The bulk of his crop still goes to a traditional commercial packer, he said. But he’s also delivering to more homes and has maintained his U-pick business for people See CHERRIES, Page 7
Colleen White is serious about her produce selections. For example, she won’t buy oranges if she can’t smell a citrusy scent. Though she hunts for a good buy, she says she will pay a higher price for freshness and quality. When she saw a Facebook post last year that Chinchiolo Farming Co. in San Joaquin County was taking orders for farm-fresh cherries, she jumped on it, paying online for first dibs before the crop was even harvested. Store-bought cherries, she lamented, “don’t taste like cherries a lot of times,” either because they weren’t picked at peak ripeness or because supply chain hiccups degraded the fruit. The ones from the farm did not disappoint, as they were large, juicy and had the sweet- tart flavor she expected. “They were some of the best cherries I’d ever had,” she said. “They were gone in less than two days at my house. That’s why I would buy them again.” Fourth-generation farmer James Chinchiolo, who runs the Lodi-based farm, is working to reach more people like White—U.S. customers who are willing to pay a premium for what produce marketers call “export-quality” fruit. Instead of shipping those cherries to foreign markets—which pay top dollar for them—he’s setting aside some of the farm’s exportable cherries and delivering them directly to people’s doorsteps. “We’re providing the premium product that I’m accustomed to, that we know is here, but oftentimes, it gets exported to other markets,” Chinchiolo said. Nearly 30% of the state’s cherry crop is shipped—or, more accurately, flown—all over
6 Ag Alert May 22, 2024
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