WSFC Set To Recap 2021, Look Ahead To 2022

The Washington State Fruit Commission's Board of Directors quarterly meeting will take place December 1^st. The gathering will focus not only on reviewing 2021, but looking at the year ahead. This year's northwest cherry season saw a different landscape than volatile 2020. Around 30 million boxes shipped from the country's western states, fueled by a record year in California. Fruit Commission President B.J. Thurlby said one of the big areas of focus in 2021 was highlighting the health benefits of cherries, as well as addressing consumer preferences.

"We've come away with some positive things like cherries are super high an anthocyanins when they are compared to other items like grapes, strawberries, some other things. The anti-inflammatory properties in cherries are really something that's unique and very high."

Thurlby noted the commission paid for research focused on consumer spending this year.

"The other shift that we are seeing during the pandemic is the amount of people that are shopping online. Interesting, this past year the online sales dropped a little bit in June and July, when our product is available."

Thurlby believes the drop off in online cherry sales is because of the fruit's seasonality, adding cherries are not typically found on shopping lists, but are more of a seasonal, impulse buy. The Commission he says is now working with retailers to try and get their product online as much as possible.

The quarterly meeting will take place in the W.L. Hansen Building at 105 S. 18th Street in Yakima, WA. It is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thurlby noted the meeting will include industry reports, officer elections and a look at the commission's preliminary 2022 budgets.

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