Cranberry producers in Massachusetts, and around the country, are slowly drowning in surplus fruit.

For years, harvests in the three major cranberry-producing countries — the United States, Canada and Chile — have swelled, while many consumers have turned away from sugary beverages like cranberry juice. As a result, the global supply of cranberries has outgrown demand, and many Bay State growers have been pushed to the brink of failure.

... However, the makings of the current cranberry glut were visible as early as 2012. And it was around that time that the industry, in search of new customers, focused its marketing muscle on China. The bet was that the world's most populous country might just be big enough to soak up that excess fruit.

Between 2013 and 2018, sales of dried cranberries to China increased by over 1,000%. In 2018, China bought nearly $55 million worth of the fruit, making it that year's biggest spender on U.S. dried cranberries.

U.S. export data show cranberry sales to China during the first-half of 2019 were 45% lower than sales during first-half of 2018, before the Chinese tariffs