The impending closure of the 88-year-old BC Tree Fruits co-operative continues to send shock waves through the Okanagan farming community.
"Devastation," said Amarjit Singh, a spokesperson for some BC Tree Fruits co-op members.
"When you still have more assets than liabilities, the bank hasn't called in the loan and for the directors to make this decision. I don't know."
Singh says he met with a group of farmers representing 85 growers on Sunday following a BC Tree Fruits' communication to members earlier this month that said the co-operative would wind down its operations due to "difficult market conditions." Established in 1936, BC Tree Fruits is a grower-owned sales agency responsible for marketing fruit produced by members to customers in Canada and around the world.
"We're seeking legal advice," said Singh, adding that some farmers intend to launch a legal challenge.
Singh says the growers he met with on Sunday represent approximately 45,000 apple bins. There were 72,000 apple bins produced last year.
"They all want to see the packing house saved, they want the six directors that have led us to this position to resign," Singh says.
One of the longest-standing members of BC Tree Fruits, going back to his great-grandfather, Mike Mitchell of B&T Orchards in Lake Country calls it a sad day.
"This is the first year our apples won't be sold under the leaf brand," he said.
Mitchell says he wants to make sure there is a business for the next generation of apple farmers in his family. He has already made a deal to ship his apples to Consolidated Fruit Packers, based in Kelowna. He doesn't hold out any hope that BC Tree Fruits will make a comeback.
"I know some people think government should bail them out, but it's a business. You can't have 300 people trying to make decisions and every year the board changes. When you're in debt up to your eyeballs, and there's no way out of it, I think it's too late," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's phone started ringing with offers to take his apple crop as soon as BC Tree Fruits announced its closure. He says that is because his apples are high quality.
"Some of the lower quality apple growers, or older varieties, older blocks, may not survive this because BC Tree Fruits isn't there to take it, and a lot of the independent packers won't take that fruit because it's not profitable," he said.
Mitchell points to apple quality as a possible reason why BC Tree Fruits wasn't successful, "because they took all that stuff and at the end of day, BC Tree Fruits is a private business, or was a private business, and it needs to turn a profit."
Mitchell says some farmers may be forced to pull up their apple trees and plant cherries or another tree fruit crop.
BC United leader Kevin Falcon, in Kelowna Monday, asked where the NDP government is.
"They have been screaming out for months that there is a growing crisis here, and once again, we are left with a situation where government is reacting to a problem, as opposed to proactively working with industry trying to solve this problem."
Falcon says his agriculture critic Ian Paton has been talking to farmers and is working on a potential solution, "that we will give to the government in the hopes that they will do the right thing and help fix yet another problem that we're facing here in the Interior."
BC Tree Fruits says it made the decision last Thursday to obtain court direction and assistance to wind down the cooperative and maximize recovery for all stakeholders.
