Washington may be well known for its shiny Red Delicious apples, but the rest of the world also really wants our potatoes – and more specifically, our tasty french fries.
Nearly $970 million in frozen french fries – made from Washington-grown potatoes – were exported to other countries last year, with Japan, South Korea and Mexico topping the list. Taiwan bought $172 million in frozen fries last year.
It’s not the only commodity from our state in demand.
Wheat falls in behind frozen french fries on the top exports list. Valued at $894 million last year, with the Philippines, Yemen and Japan the top customers.
Trade is a key component of Washington’s agriculture industry.
The numbers bear this out. In 2022, $8 billion in Washington-grown food and agriculture products were exported out of state – a 4% increase over the previous year. The total value also is up over pre-pandemic numbers.
To protect the industry, our state must continue to demand progress to reduce trade barriers and promote export opportunities.
We encourage our readers to dip into our Focus: Agriculture + Viticulture magazine inserted into this edition’s Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business to learn more about our state’s vibrant and diverse agriculture industry – and why trade is so important to our state.
It has its bright spots and opportunities, just like other industries, but we think those laboring in ag– from the growers to the field workers – are just about the hardest workers we know. They also have a clear message about how we can best support them: buy Washington-grown and produced products.
“If every household in the state of Washington bought one more bundle of Washington-grown asparagus, that would save the western asparagus industry,” said Alan Schreiber, executive director of the Washington Asparagus Commission and an Eltopia asparagus farmer. He’s also a driving force behind launching a food co-op in the Tri-Cities.
And let’s not forget to mention viticulture here. Experts say last year’s wine grape harvest was exceptional, which means the wines squeezed from these grapes will be stellar. Skip the out-of-state vintages and reach for wines made from grapes ripening in the many growing regions in our backyard.
As the ag industry in our state strives to thrive and remain competitive, it is imperative we emphasize the need for increased funding for U.S. trade programs in the 2023 Farm Bill. We also want to see more forward progress on securing trade agreements to shore up and expand our export markets.
We simply can’t afford to let high tariffs and restrictions put us at a competitive disadvantage.