Press Releases
Tree Fruit Agreement Awarded Export Grant by State
5/28/2003
The California Tree Fruit Agreement was awarded $495,000 as part the California Department of Agriculture's new California International Market Promotion for Agriculture (CIMPA) competitive grant program. Under this program, which is part of the Buy California Initiative, 34 agricultural businesses and organizations were awarded funds for use in promoting exports of California specialty crops. CTFA was the recipient of the single largest grant award.
CTFA will use the funding primarily to support a comprehensive in-store product sampling program for peaches, plums and nectarines in Canada, which is the California tree fruit industry's largest export market. The remainder of the funds will be used for the development of a new television commercial in Mexico and to fund consumer research in two emerging markets -- Japan and China.
"We are extremely pleased the industry has been awarded this funding," said Blair Richardson, president of the California Tree Fruit Agreement, which administers marketing order programs on behalf of California peach, plum and nectarine growers. "The industry has experienced significant growth in exports over the past ten years and this new funding will help boost sales even further in these key markets. Perhaps even more importantly, it will help expand the money spent by growers through their assessments in a time when profit margins are thin and available market development dollars are hard to come by."
According to CTFA, this year's crop of fresh peaches, plums and nectarines is expected to come just short of last year's record production levels.
"Anything we can do to help boost sales is a plus for our growers," continued Richardson. "We thank both the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture for providing this valuable assistance to California tree fruit farmers."
For more information on the California Tree Fruit Agreement and its 2003 promotion programs, please contact CTFA offices in Reedley, CA at (559) 638-8260.