How the introduction of late season sweet cherry cultivars and changing demand conditions impacted industry competitiveness: Evidence from British Columbia

This paper discusses the importance of government research and innovation policies designed to reflect changing demand conditions and strengthen competitiveness of the British Columbia (BC) sweet cherry industry. Canadian plant breeding programs have responded to market demand by releasing cultivars that have extended the marketing season and resulted in higher export price premiums earned in European and Asian markets. Stronger Canadian intellectual property rights (IPR) legislation has facilitated the commercialization of a range of cultivars with valuable attributes. However, the combination of Canada being a net importer of sweet cherries and the rapid adoption of BC cultivars by Washington State orchardists has challenged Canadian policy makers to implement IPR policies that can contribute to maximizing royalty returns and sustain the Canadian plant breeding program.