Cherries create a lot of work at the International Airport of Seattle-Tacoma and in the Yakima Valley.
The number of international cargo flights, where a little bit of everything is transported, from seafood to computer parts for customers all over the world, doubles every year between the months of June and July.
"It's all because of the cherries," said Tom Green, manager of air cargo operations and development for the Sea-Tac airport.
Our fruit, which is often given away in the dining rooms of the Yakima Valley or during picnics with friends, costs up to $10 a pound for wealthy buyers in Asia, who consider it a luxurious delicacy and a perfect gift in their culture.
To meet that demand, airlines routes divert cargo planes to the Sea-Tac ramps and load 100 tons of cherries that are then sent to Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and, for the first time, Shanghai, which is why they've been nicknamed the Cherry Charters.
Thus, the economic importance of cherry in the Yakima Valley resonates in Sea-Tac, where they are sent throughout the world.
"It's the biggest product in terms of weight," said Green, and this has been a very, very heavy year.
The almost perfect spring weather for this fruit helped produce 21.3 million 20-pound boxes (9 kg approx.) of cherries, the third largest volume in the history of Washington.
Even with advances in cold storage, Washington cherries must be exported to customers all over the globe before they rot.
The airlines do not divert commercial flights to collect loads of cherries when the demand requires it, but they do send more cargo planes.
This year, three new airlines, of a total of ten, have added to Sea-Tac as a pickup port. Some of those airlines make ten flights per week. In total, this year the transport of cherries to other destinations had 21 extra flights compared to the 14 extra flights it had last year.
This summer, China Eastern Airlines began transporting cherries on direct flights to China.
The airline, which is controlled by the government China, exported cherries for a few retailers that sell them through a virtual store-similar to Amazon- delivering the cherries directly to the homes of the buyers at a $10 a pound price, said Keith Hu, director of development of export businesses in the Washington State Fruit Commission.
At those prices, it is understandable that the airlines stop in Seattle to pick up loads of cherries.
"The cherry season is like gold for the airlines," Hu said. "Their profits are guaranteed."
Cherries arrive at their destinations just 72 hours after being harvested, many times faster than it takes to transport them by truck to New York or Boston.
No cherries are transported by air nationwide. "Unless a customer wants to pay nearly $10 per pound," said Hu.
Every year, Washington exports almost a third of its cherries and other fruits of the state. China is one of the markets with highest growth in demand.
Since 2005, China has advanced at a rapid pace in the international consumption of cherries going from 16th position to the second one, just behind Canada.
In 2012, one of the greatest years in the production of cherries, Washington sent 1.14 million boxes to China worth $39.9 million dollars.
The new flights of China Eastern offer the producers at the Yakima Valley and the packers the opportunity to have a foot in the door to door delivery sector, said Howard Nager, vice president of marketing for Domex Superfresh Growers of Yakima, one of two state packers that is exporting in the new flights available. The other packer is Yakima Fresh.
The Chinese customers, who can financially buy the product, often buy gift baskets of the fruit produced by Nager, and they pay a lot of money for it. "We're talking about consumers who pay $85 for a melon," said Nager.
Source: elsoldeyakima.com