EU tariff on cranberries puts squeeze on U.S. farmers

The American cranberry industry is one of the biggest losers so far in the escalating trade dispute between the European Union and the U.S.

Imports of the red fruit from the U.S. were on the list of goods targeted earlier this monthby the EU for a 25 percent levy in retaliation for American tariffs on steel and aluminum. The U.S. exports about 95 million pounds of cranberries to the bloc each year, according to Tom Lochner, executive director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers. That’s more than any other destination, and accounts for about 12 percent of domestic production.

Cranberries are among a basket of all-American goods — from peanut butter to bourbon whiskey and Harley Davidson motorbikes — singled out by the EU. The fruit is synonymous with Thanksgiving Dinner, but it’s also a U.S. agricultural success story. The country is the world’s largest producer, with output up 20 percent since 2010. The industry has promoted dry fruit in beverages, and exports have jumped 48 percent in the last six years, in part because of increased sales to China.

Yet cranberries remain a niche market, with only about 1,200 growers. In 2016, the harvest by farmers was valued at $292.3 million while the country’s exports of fresh cranberries, juice, sauces and dried and frozen products was estimated at $340 million.

“Cranberries are a small segment of U.S. agriculture,” said Terry Humfeld, executive director at the Cranberry Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in 1951 to promote cranberry growers and the industry. “But for our little industry to be impacted does not make any sense. We are concerned.”