Cranberry Stressline

Archives

3/23 - 4/1/01

OpEds by John Swendrowski and John Decas

Three part series on doing business with China

A Market Analysis for New Opportunities in the Cranberry Industry, by Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.

New survey to go directly to USDA

 

OpEds

What if, Mr. Decas?

by John Swendrowski

4/1/01 Ed note: John Swendrowski, President and CEO of Northland Cranberries, rebuts John Decas' OpEd (below) stating: "Would we have heard the same arguments against an order from you in 97-99 because you could sell all of your growers fruit?  Seems to me that I remember you had to alter your grower contracts in order to sell all their fruit.  It certainly appears that an industry oversupply becomes a problem for you along with everyone else unless of course you can reduce the grower price and "sell" it all." Read OpEd here. 

 

Choosing the 50% option is like voting for no order at all for 2001

by John Decas

3/30/01 Ed note: John Decas writes in this OpEd that "the 46% - 50% alternative is too radical. It does not allow enough available berries for the berry pool, punishes growers of independent handlers with no surplus too severely, will create very disorderly marketing conditions, and therefore should be rejected as illegal." "He say that "the only realistic choices the growers have at their disposal for this year are a 32% regulation or no regulation at all." Read OpEd 


Press Release:

3/31/01
Desert Grape Growers Take Action Against Dumped Spring Table Grapes from Chile and Mexico

A Market Analysis for New Opportunities in the Cranberry Industry

by Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.

3/30/01 Ed note: Dr. Barnes summarizes her study, conducted in major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, to determine consumer preferences regarding cranberry consumption. She concludes that there are yet unreached segments of the market in the United States where cranberry consumption can be significantly increased. She offers suggestions as to how to best market cranberry products to these consumers. ARTICLE

Press releases:

3/30/01- Study Suggests Possible Heart Health Benefits From Cranberries

3/30/01 Move Over Grape: Cranberries Have Heart Too

3/29/01- Northland Cranberries, Inc. Executes Amendment to Forbearance Agreement With Its Primary Lenders

Part 3
of a three part
editorial series
on doing business
in China

An Interview with Zac Pessin on Approaching China's Business Environment

3/29/01 - China is a country that is not yet run according to the rule of law, and this is particularly the case as far as Business is concerned.  Obviously this differs incredibly from the US.  China has a very long history, but as far as modern business practice is concerned China is still an adolescent.  And even if the top officials in the Chinese government are very educated and understand that the end goal is to create a country that operates by the rule of law, actually getting a billion people to agree is easier said than done.
.....Under these circumstances the Chinese government can make at least a semi-legitimate claim that regulating international business agreements is difficult or even impossible. Where the law exists in writing, or where the international conventions on intellectual property and trade have been signed is the first small step-- just as is getting a small child to recognize that there are rules in life.
.....Getting a child to actually follow the rules is what turns him or her into an adult; and it takes time.  China will break the rules as all children do, and the measure of a parent is devising effective punishments that educate rather than embitter. CONTINUED

Part 2 

The Chinese art of business

3/28/01 - English may be the international language of business, but the Western way of doing business appears to be very different from the Chinese way of doing business. Granted that as China competes in the world market things will change, but some of these changes may be only cosmetic.  There is unbridled enthusiasm being expressed both in words and numbers in reports from the USDA and the agricultural press predicting that China's membership the World Trade Organization will be a boon to U.S. agriculture. It is almost heresy to suggest otherwise. CONTINUED 

Including How to access 
Chinese juice market

 by Attorney Pang Linn

Part 1

Be careful what you wish for

3/27/01 - Unfortunately, there is a cautionary note about doing business with China that must be sounded amidst the optimistic response to Ocean Spray's news. There is a sobering lesson for cranberry growers that we believe must be learned from the experience of American apple growers. CONTINUED 

New survey to go directly to USDA

3/23/01 Six growers who support a 4.0 million barrel marketable quantity, which they contend will eliminate the surplus in one year, have initiated a marketing order preference survey* which will be mailed directly to the USDA. The growers are Doanne Andresen, MA; Dick Ducklow, WI; Gary Jensen, WI; Russ Lawton, MA; Linda Rinta, MA; and Dick Teske, WI.  A letter has been sent to approximately 1,600 United States' cranberry growers asking them to review a packet of informational material promoting their viewpoint, and send a survey directly to Ken Johnson of the Agriculture Marketing Service at the USDA expressing their preference for one of the following three choices: a volume regulation of 4.0 million barrels marketable quantity including fresh fruit;  recommendation of the Cranberry Marketing Committee of a volume regulation of 4.7 million barrels marketable quantity of processed fruit with a fresh fruit exemption; or no marketing order for 2001. CONTINUED

* Notice: This is a growers survey and to be counted must be signed as addressed.

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