Uncertainty looms over BC apple harvest as minister meets with growers

Article content

Farmers markets, grocers and other businesses are bracing for the fallout from the closure of the B.C. Tree Fruit co-op, although it’s unclear how widespread the impact will be.

The 88-year-old co-operative announced on July 26 it was closing its doors. Its over 300 members mostly provided the co-operative with apples, although it also helped sell other tree fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums and pears.

Article content

Edwin Surendranath, produce manager for Famous Foods in east Vancouver, said he doesn’t usually start stocking B.C. apples until September. For now, the store has been getting most of its supply from Washington state.

He said his main problem this year has been January’s cold snap that killed off most of the province’s peaches, nectarines and plums.

“We might not see any soft fruits this year,” said Surendranath. His store has turned to U.S. suppliers, but he said the switch has not had much impact on customers who are for the most part paying the same price.

The bigger impacts have come for local farmers markets, which rely heavily on producers bringing their produce to the Lower Mainland from their farms in the Okanagan.

Randy Elliott, interim executive director of Vancouver Farmers Markets, said there has been a definite decline in the variety and diversity of products being sold at their summer stalls this year because of the January cold snap.

“The cherry crop has been drastically decreased. Some folks weren’t able to bring any cherries at all,” said Elliott. “Things like peaches, nectarines and plums, the market was just fully wiped out and they’re non-existent at markets this year.”

Article content

Article content

Some industries will not be hit as hard by the closure of B.C. Tree Fruits. Many of B.C.’s craft cideries rely on their own orchards rather than fruit growers. For those that do buy apples, many had already moved away from the co-operative.

Mike Petkau, co-founder of Summerland-based Nomad Cider and vice-president of the B.C. Cider Association, said his company used to buy apples from the co-op but switched suppliers over a year ago.

“There’s other packing houses in the Okanagan,” he said. “Seeing B.C. Tree Fruits go out of business isn’t that surprising based on what I heard around the Okanagan over the last several years. I know that lots of growers weren’t happy with how they were being treated.”

Both Surendranath and Elliott remain unsure about what the closure of B.C. Tree Fruits means for the availability of B.C. apples this fall, but Elliott said he has started to see some come into the farmers markets, giving him hope that there will be plenty of supply for fall and winter markets.

This availability, however, hinges largely on whether the province can reach an agreement on supports for orchards that relied on the co-operative.

Article content

On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis finally met with fruit growers. Both sides remain tight-lipped on what was discussed, but a statement from the B.C. Fruit Growers Association described the meeting as open and constructive.

“Our discussions revolved around the pressing issues that our growers are currently grappling with, and we presented a range of potential solutions that could alleviate these problems,” said the association. “We are hopeful that our concerns and suggestions have been heard.”

Alexis was not made available to media, but said in a statement that “from the beginning, we have been listening to the wide range of perspectives from the tree fruit industry.”

She said her ministry is working to help farmers with logistics, getting fruit ready for export and with obtaining financing.

“We are also offering direct assistance to individual producers to match them with the tools they need to get their fruit to market,” added Alexis. “I will continue to work with and meet with producers to hear how we can find supports that work for everyone.”

Article content

Conservative Leader John Rustad, who met with growers and packers in Kelowna this week, said he has sent a letter to the minister and Premier David Eby, urging them to freeze the assets of B.C. Tree Fruits, allow farmers to use the cold storage facilities previously operated by the co-op, and provide support designed to keep the industry viable.

These are all measures B.C. United called for last week.

“There’s lots of the small fruit growers, tree fruit growers that don’t have any place to send a crop. It’s going to create huge problems, and will likely mean many of these operators going bankrupt,” said Rustad, who said all British Columbians will likely be hit by rising produce costs and a decreased ability to buy local.

“People are already struggling to put food on the table,” he said. “We’ll end up having to import more food from the United States. The jurisdictions that fail to meet those needs got situations where, in some cases, there may be even supply shortages.”

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Article content