The BC Tree Fruit co-op, a staple in agriculture for 88 years, ceased operations on July 26. The closure has left over 300 members, mostly apple growers, looking for alternative ways to distribute their produce, which also includes peaches, nectarines, plums and pears. The impact of this closure is not yet fully apparent at farmers’ markets, grocery stores and related businesses.

Edwin Surendranath, the produce manager at Famous Foods in East Vancouver, expects minimal immediate impact on apple availability because he typically sources his supplies from Washington state until the local season in September. But an earlier weather event in January has already impacted the availability of soft fruits such as peaches, nectarines and plums in British Columbia, forcing retailers such as Famous Foods to resort to U.S. suppliers without much change in prices for consumers.

Local farmers markets in the Lower Mainland, which rely on the influx of produce from Okanagan farms, are facing a significant decline in product variety and diversity. Randy Elliott, interim executive director of the Vancouver Farmers Markets, highlighted the sharp decline in cherry supply and the complete absence of certain fruits from this year’s markets due to the January frost.

According to an article on bc.ctvnews.ca, the president of the province’s fruit growers association fears that with less than a week to go until harvest time for Gala apples in British Columbia, the harvest season will be devastating as farmers have no way to refrigerate their crops.

Peter Simonsen of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association says without the infrastructure of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, which abruptly closed last month, some fruit growers may find it is not worth harvesting their fruit and leave it to rot in the orchard. “There will be a carpet of apples.”

Last month, the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative announced that “extremely low” fruit volumes and difficult market conditions had led to the decision to close the organization and that the winding up would proceed through the courts.

Industry representatives, political rivals and fruit growers have since called on the provincial government to step in and maintain some of the assets left behind by the cooperative, particularly the cold storage facilities where the Galas can be kept for up to ten months before being sold.

Source: vancouversun.com