WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsCranberry growers try to further expand into foreign markets

Cranberry growers try to further expand into foreign markets

By Heather Sawaski

WOOD COUNTY (WAOW) -- Cranberries are big business here in Wisconsin. The state's largest fruit crop reels in more than $500 million to the economy each year. But marketers of the little red berry are now making a push to branch out into foreign markets.

It's harvest season at Gottschalk Cranberry near Wisconsin Rapids. For more than 60 years, the family-run marsh has been producing truckloads of berries for commercial company's like Ocean Spray.

"Once the berries float up," said owner Guy Gottschalk. "they're stripped off the vines, they float to the surface and they're pumped into trucks and taken down the road to a delivery station of Ocean Sprays' where they're in a freezer somewhere in the state within 24 hours."

And the journey continues from there. Each growing season over 5 million pounds of cranberries are harvested at Gottschalk Cranberry. They're shipped to countries all over the world. But still, Growers Association leaders are hoping to expand the market."

That's why they invited trade representatives from 12 different countries to central Wisconsin Thursday. Leaders of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association hope that witnessing production in the state where over half the world's cranberry supply is produced will help to increase international exports.

In the last 10 years, cranberry exports jumped 20%.

"Up until 1999," said Growers Association Director Tom Lochner, "all the cranberries were consumed domestically. And in 1999 and 2000 we had a surplus of fruit. The industry began looking at market development and we felt international markets presented a tremendous opportunity for us."

Right now, about 25% of the U.S. cranberry crop is sold internationally. And foreign market leaders say their consumers want more. Austrian markets have been selling the berry for less than 3 years, and they already receive over 100,000 pounds a year from the United States.

"We started right from zero," said Austrian Trade Rep. Gabi Novotny. "We had just a few products from Germany and in the past 2 and a half years we had about 130 products with cranberries. Mostly juices and the people really like it."

Boosting exports is an opportunity, leaders say, that could help Wisconsin growers rake in more profits for years to come.

Online Reporter: Heather Sawaski