Holding placards that read “we have no voice” and “no transparency” about 30 growers staged a protest Wednesday morning outside of the BC Tree Fruits cooperative office in Kelowna.
The protesters are demanding more transparency and accountability from their own cooperative.
“We’d like the cooperative to come clean and just communicate with us,” said protest spokesperson Amarjit Lalli.
The growers are all members of the cooperative and have a stake in its success.
They’re raising concerns about lower-than-anticipated returns at its newly expanded packing house in Oliver.
“The projection was 67 million pounds of apples so last year we only had 54 million pounds of apples, Lalli said. “This year, they’re expecting even a smaller crop.”
That has left the growers worried about low returns and high costs.
“All volume covers overhead…so now what are we doing to make up the difference for the overhead,” Lalli said.
Lalli, who is also a former cooperative board member, said growers also worried about the cooperative selling off its properties at much lower values than originally planned.
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“There’s probably going to be a shortfall of 30 to 40 million dollars and so the growers are wondering where is that money going to come from,” Lalli said. “We want to make sure that, you know, the board and management are doing everything in their power to make sure that the growers are not left with a bill.”
In an email to Global News, cooperative management said the industry has been changing with extreme weather events, increased competition, market pressures, and rising costs.
“Orchardists and packers such as BC Tree Fruits Cooperative are having to adapt. Change can be difficult, but is necessary to move organizations forward,’ said Laurel Van Dam, vice-president, grower relations & corporate affairs for BC Tree Fruits Cooperative.
Van Dam added that growers received information last week about an upcoming grower meeting.
“We look forward to engaging with them in person at that meeting,” Van Dam stated.
The protestors say with all the hardships producers have faced in the last several years with extreme weather impacting crops, the last thing they need to worry about is their cooperative struggling financially.
“The last thing anyone wants to see is that the cooperative go under, ” Lalli said. “I have nightmares of that.”
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