While blueberries are priced for $2.99 per pound in the grocery store, Fraser Valley growers are troubled by the fact that their share is as little as 55 cents. Blueberries have flourished for 20 years in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, but concern is growing among farmers, and some are selling their farms.
Hardeep Gill recently sold his blueberry farm in Abbotsford, and calls himself a “big victim” of the pricing system he says is failing many farmers.
He said they don’t know how much they can expect to receive for their crops. He got anywhere from $1.50 to 55 cents per pound, but was always forced to take whatever he could get. At the lower end of the scale, he was not even covering his operating costs.
Devinder Brar is on the executive of the B.C. Blueberry Growers Association, which represents about 300 farmers and formed four years ago primarily to get fair prices for farmers.
He explained that in 2010 and 2011, many blueberry producers saw returns of $1.60 per pound.
“We were very happy. But now processors and brokers control the whole industry,” said Brar.
“It is a big issue. If you get 60 cents [per pound] for your berries, and your cost is 90, how will you survive?”
He said some farmers are forced to wait most of a year before they get paid for their crops in the present model.
Gary Purewal is a Pitt Meadows producer and packer who agrees that farmers have a legitimate complaint.
“Some marketers low-balled, selling at a very low price before the season even began,” Purewal said.
As packers, they supply 15 million pounds of blueberries each year, growing about 6.5 million on their farms, and purchasing the rest.
He said they were able to offer farmers $1.05 to $1.10 per pound.
B.C. blueberries have been a major crop, with well-promoted health benefits, he said. Production was 172 million pounds last year. Now the challenge is fairly dividing the profits.
Brar said his group will advocate, and hopes to achieve some price certainty for next season.
He said producers expect government leadership and more help from the B.C. Blueberry Council.
