The Oregon Blueberry Commission has joined in an effort to slow the large increase in blueberry imports from southern countries. Last week, the commission voted to join blueberry grower groups in Florida, Georgia and Michigan in petitioning the US International Trade Commission to investigate whether the recent influx of US blueberry imports from Chile, Peru and Mexico pose a threat to the domestic blueberry industry.
Blueberry commissions in Washington and California also were looking at the issue and could decide this week to join the effort.
The industry has asked the International Trade Commission to investigate the increase in foreign blueberry imports under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, a section that provides only temporary remedies and is less restrictive than Section 301, which requires an industry show a foreign country is dumping product into the US at below market prices before a remedy is considered.
The Oregon commission voted to put $50,000 toward the effort. Blueberry growers in Michigan have weighed in with a voluntary assessment that is expected to generate at least $400,000 toward the effort. Commissions in Georgia and Florida also are in for several hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Bryan Ostlund, administrator of the Oregon Blueberry Commission.
Source: lagrandeobserver.com
