OSOYOOS TIMES-August 5, 2009

By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times

A “perfect storm” of bumper cherry crops south of the border and low cherry prices has left a sour taste in the mouth of the man representing local cherry farmers.
Greg Norton, the Oliver-based chairman of the Okanagan Kootenay Cherry Growers’ Association, said local cherry producers are facing lost revenues this year because the world market is flooded with cheap cherries, mainly from Washington state.
Washington growers produced between 17 and 22 million boxes of cherries this year because more farmers are growing cherries rather than apples and the state’s reserve orchards are now beginning to produce, Norton said.
Prices have therefore been lowered because of the volume.
That means U.S. cherries are selling in grocery stores for as low as $1.99 a pound and Canadian farmers can’t compete with such low prices.
Norton said local farmers could sell cherries at that price on their farms or at roadside stands.
But at that price in the supermarket, growers would only receive 40 to 50 cents.
“It’s offensive to have foreign produce force us out of the domestic market,” he said.
Alex Atamanenko, federal MP for B.C.’s Southern Interior riding, said he is urging federal Agriculture Minister Gerald Ritz to help Canada’s cherry farmers.
He said Canada needs to explore options to resolve this problem within the framework of its trade agreement with the U.S.
Possible solutions could include imposing a tariff when the U.S. is “dumping” cheap cherries here or setting a “floor price” on produce that would guarantee farmers a fair price for their cherries.
If solutions can’t be found within the framework of the trade agreement, then the agreement needs to be modified, Atamanenko said.
Norton said, however, that he doesn’t have much faith that the government can help in the matter and he’s urging people to support the local agricultural industry.
“My message is simple,” he said. “If Canadians would buy Canadian produce, we could get through this.”
The “sad irony,” Norton added, is that B.C. could sell most or all of its cherries in Western Canada.
“I think Canadians want to buy Canadian food.”
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