BEFORE CHRIST. raspberry growers feel stuck as buyers look for a cheaper product

All that TJ Deol always wanted to do was a farm.

Growing up on his family's 40-hectare raspberry farm in Abbotsford, he planned to work with his father once he finished university.

But now, at age 25 and with a business degree, he is not sure of his future on the sandy lands that produce some of the best raspberries in Canada.

"I always knew exactly what I wanted to do," he said Saturday. "My father is not sure, though. He fears that there is no future here.

In November, the family uprooted 10 acres of cane, about a quarter of their crop, and is planning to replant blueberries. An aunt, who owns a nearby raspberry farm, has also returned a field.

Looking at the muddy land that once grew berries, Deol does not know if that will be enough: "I wonder if I should get a job as an accountant?"

Last year was one of the most difficult years of recent memory for British Columbia. raspberry producers, said James Bergen, president of the Raspberry Industry Development Council. "There was a lack of buyers looking for a product."

BEFORE CHRIST. farmers sell their fruits on the world market, competing with producers in countries where labor is cheap. At current world prices, it's hard for British Columbia. farmers, who face significantly higher land and labor costs, can make a profit, even with the benefits of better technology.

Our northern climate also creates sweet and juicy berries that do not transport well, which means the local culture is mainly processed for use in jams, juices and jellies. But the likelihood of raspberry swirling in your ice cream or yogurt from British Columbia is decreasing as bays imported from countries such as Mexico and China, as well as Eastern Europe, ramp up.

"Buyers are looking for the cheapest rate," Bergen said.

Statistics from the Department of Agriculture reveal that in 2014, BC imported three million kilograms of raspberries in various forms ranging from frozen to boiled. By 2018, this number had risen to 5.8 million kg.

As a result, BC farmers left the raspberry industry and turned to other crops and sometimes to other professions.

"Nothing lasts forever, but it's always sad," said Sukh Kahlon, President of British Columbia. Association of raspberry producers. "These are generational family farms that have been growing raspberries for a long time, with expertise that has been pbaded on."

While BC remains the largest raspberry producing province in Canada, production has declined since the 1980s, peaking at about 40 million pounds on 6,000 acres, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture.

Over the past five years, production has fluctuated between 12 and 20 million pounds on approximately 2,500 acres, mainly in the Fraser Valley. At the latest news, the raspberry crop had dropped by a fifth, to about 2,000 acres.

"The industry has let us know that their biggest challenge is losing market share to cheaper raspberries in other regions," a ministry spokesman told Postmedia News. "They have suffered, among other things, from imports of raspberries and frozen raspberry byproducts from areas where production costs are lower."

Kahlon said the local industry was looking for ways to "level the playing field" by working to develop varieties that are growing well in British Columbia. and produce higher yields or berries more able to withstand transportation.

"It's a process of 10 to 15 years," he said. "In the meantime, prices are falling and costs are rising. How do you make these two lines come together?

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