Officials report on recent Asian trade mission

Washington Ag Today October 14, 2010 Washington Ag Director Dan Newhouse says he is optimistic about increased sales of the state’s agricultural products as a result of the recent trade mission to China and Vietnam led by Governor Christine Gregoire.

During a news conference this week Newhouse told reporters that among the trip’s highlights was a meeting in southern China with the largest fruit wholesaler in the country.

Newhouse: “And the neat thing about our opportunities there, in one room not much bigger than this, we had assembled importers of fully 70% of the apples that we send to China. I thought that was great for us to meet person to person, face to face and continue that strong relationship. You know they have options. They can get apples from any number of different countries so it is very important for us to be there. Another highlight is to witness the potential in Vietnam of products like cherries. People are so excited about our products and as Director of Agriculture it gave me a lot of pride to witness that.”

Governor Gregoire helped hand out fries for a promotion of Washington French Fries at KFC’s in Vietnam, which got plenty of media attention.

Gregoire: “And for the days following whenever I was out and about everybody would point at me and say KFC lady. Sometimes you wonder if the promotion did any good, there is no question in our mind. It got amazing coverage over there.”

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net.