‘Not good news’: Farmers stunned as BC Tree Fruits announces surprise closure
The logo has been well-known throughout British Columbia and even across Canada for decades: a green leaf emblazoned with the words BC Tree Fruits.
On Friday, the member-owned marketing collective behind the brand, BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, closed its doors — and B.C. fruit farmers are now scrambling to get their products to market.
In a letter to its members obtained by Global News, the 88-year-old organization said, “It is with profound sadness that we must inform you that BC Tree Fruits Collective will not be receiving fruit beginning today, Friday, July 26, 2024.
“We recommend that you immediately search for another alternative to market your fruit for the balance of the 2024 season.”
The letter continued, saying “On July 25, 2024, the board of directors determined that due to extremely low estimated fruit volumes and difficult market conditions, the cooperative would not be able to effectively operate the business and provide pool returns to growers.
“BC Tree Fruits Cooperative and all its subsidiaries are taking steps to obtain court direction and assistance to properly wind down the Cooperative to maximize recovery for all stakeholders.”
Global News has reached out to BC Tree Fruits for comment.
In an email on Friday afternoon, BC Tree Fruits said “It is with profound sadness that on July 25, 2024, the board of directors of BC Tree Fruits Cooperative determined that due to extremely low estimated fruit volumes, weather effects, and difficult market and financial conditions, the cooperative will not be able to effectively operate the business moving forward.
“As a result, BC Tree Fruits Cooperative and all its subsidiaries will be taking steps to seek court direction and assistance to liquidate the Cooperative in an effort to maximize recovery for all stakeholders.
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“This is a very unfortunate situation, and we are working with our lenders and advisors as we embark on this process. We respectfully ask for your patience as we navigate through the process.”
For B.C. fruit farmers, the announcement was a bombshell.
“There’s probably 300 growers looking for a place to find a home for their fruit for this upcoming crop,” said Mike Mitchell, a fourth-generation fruit farmer in Lake Country.
The news comes after three tough seasons for fruit growers, beginning with the heat dome that cooked the province in 2021. Following that were more heat and drought concerns, wildfires, smoke issues and January’s sudden cold snap that damaged this season’s stone fruit crop.
Mitchell, who is also a former board member of BC Tree Fruits, called Friday’s news “the icing on the cake.”
“The tonnage that BC Tree Fruits handled completely dropped off,” he said. “And then apple estimates that were to be received by July 5, the projected volume was only in the 30,000-bin range when they needed to be upward of 70,000-plus.
“The tonnage coming in didn’t support the cooperative model. And they wouldn’t be able to financially return any types of decent returns or even close to the costs of production to the grower body.
“It’s not good news at all, as we haven’t settled up from last year’s crop. BC Tree Fruits pays by advances and the fourth advance was due at the end of August. Obviously, we’re not going to receive that.”
Looking ahead, Mitchell said farmers who used to deal with BC Tree Fruits will now have to find private fruit packers.
“Returns last year versus the private sector, they were dramatically lower from BC Tree Fruits,” Mitchell said.
In the meantime, it’s not business as usual.
“We are businessmen and we have to act like businessmen and find a way,” Mitchell said. “Farmers are resilient. We always get up and we will find a way out of this.
“We’ll figure this out, one way or another.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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