Image: Okanagan apple trees / Dreamstime / Amidchaos9
BC Apples
Tree fruit growers concerned with lack of government response
Aug 10, 2024 | 5:54 AM
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VICTORIA — B.C. Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis says news is coming soon on how the government intends to respond to the closure of the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative, which has left apple growers scrambling.
Peter Simonsen, the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, has warned there could be a “carpet of apples” when the fruit is left to fall off the trees if growers can’t afford to pick them.
He is calling on the provincial government to step in and acquire the cold-storage that now sits empty since the co-op closure.
Alexis acknowledges that gala apples will be ready to pick in less than a week but says she doesn’t believe the government needs to acquire the temperature-controlled facilities the co-op used.
