Photo: Contributed
The plight of apple growers in the Okanagan will be on display at the Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market on Saturday morning.
The BC Fruit Growers’ Association is sponsoring a 12 cent apple sale at the market adjacent to Orchard Park Mall on Dilworth Drive to inform the public of the depressed price fruit growers are receiving for their apples.
Association general manager Glen Lucas says growers have been receiving “extremely low prices for their apples” over the past four years.
In fact, he says they are losing money comparing production costs and sale prices.
While production costs range between 30 and 35 cents a pound, orchardists in 2019 received only an average of 12.5 cents a pound.
Lucas points to several factors, including U.S. subsidies to Washington state apple growers, an increase in Washington state production resulting from the Columbia River Treaty and low provincial government support program payments.
Those, on top of increasing wage costs and additional operating costs due to COVID-19, have resulted in the gap between production costs and sale prices.
Lucas says the industry is looking to both senior levels of government to increase coverage of losses through the Business Risk Management Program but says help has been limited.
Saturday’s sale runs from 8 a.m. until noon.
Money raised will be donated to local food banks.
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