B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative shutting down after 88 years

After operating in the Okanagan Valley for nearly nine decades, the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative announced to growers on Friday it is dissolving and seeking court direction to liquidate its assets.

The co-operative, which is made up of more than 230 farming families, is perhaps best known to consumers for its green leaf logo that has adorned fruit packaging and apple stickers for decades as a sign of B.C.-grown quality. 

Members have been informed by email that as of Friday, the co-operative would no longer be receiving fruit at its packing facilities and advised growers to "immediately search for another alternative to market your fruit for the balance of the 2024 season."

In a written statement, the company cited "extremely low estimated fruit volumes, weather effects and difficult market and financial conditions" as the reasons for dissolving the co-operative. 

The news comes as many Okanagan fruit farmers are facing catastrophic crop losses from extreme weather this winter that wiped out almost all of the valley's peach, apricot and nectarine crops and severely damaged cherry orchards. 

Growers asked to find a new buyer for their fruit

With the Okanagan apple harvest just weeks away for some varieties, members of the co-operative are now faced with the task of finding a buyer for their crop.

"It's shocking. It's really sad," said Parminder Saini, whose family grows apples in West Kelowna. 

"What do we do next? How do we pick our fruit? How do we haul it to an area where it can be stored for cooling? How does it go from coolers into the stores."

B.C. Tree Fruits has not agreed to an interview with CBC News but said in the statement the co-operative and its subsidiaries are now seeking "court direction and assistance to liquidate the co-operative in an effort to maximize recovery for all stakeholders."

Iconic branding

The move to dissolve the grower-owned co-operative ends nearly nine decades of operations for B.C. Tree Fruits.

Founded in 1936,  B.C. Tree Fruits expanded its operations to include a grower supply company, a fresh fruit market in Kelowna and, in 2014, a craft cider company branded with the B.C. Tree Fruits logo. 

However, in recent years, the co-operative has faced financial challenges and opposition from a large proportion of its grower membership to decisions made by the board of directors.

In 2022, B.C. Tree Fruits shuttered its Lake Country fruit packing house, forcing central and north Okanagan growers to ship their fruit to Oliver in the south Okanagan.

Business moves challenged

In protest, Saini and other growers tried unsuccessfully to dissolve the board of directors at a special general meeting of the co-operative's membership.

"All these actions could have changed if we had won that vote at that time, but unfortunately, we didn't," Saini said. 

Kelowna-based apple grower and former board member Amarjit Lalli is also critical of the direction B.C. Tree Fruits had taken in recent years, including the move to the Oliver packing house and the selling off of the co-operative's assets. 

"It's been one blunder after another," he said.

"There is a lot in the background. The government needs to come in and do a full audit and an investigation into the downfall of B.C. Tree Fruits."

Difficulty finding fruit packers

With the co-operative's sudden collapse, Lalli and other fruit farmers are meeting this weekend to discuss how they can get their fruit to market this year, he said.

"The private packers don't have the capability to pack all of that fruit," Lalli said. 

"They will take some of it, but not all of it, and it's going to be a devastating year for some growers."

Both Lalli and Saini are calling on the B.C. government to step in and support farmers.

In a written statement to CBC News, Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis said ministry staff have been "engaging and consulting with B.C.'s tree fruit sector to understand the impacts."

"Our government has been supporting the tree fruit industry through a tree fruit stabilization plan, which included supporting governance changes at the B.C. Tree Fruit co-operative," Alexis wrote.

Alexis said the province will continue to work with growers and the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association to understand the impacts of the decision to dissolve the co-operative.