While fruit growers in the Okanagan Valley have seen plenty of cherries on their trees, the prices are low.
“The growing conditions this year have been phenomenal,” said Adrian Arts, executive director of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association. “We’ve had the best cherry season on record.”
He added that the peach crop has also been strong. This is a change from 2024, when a cold snap in January destroyed fruit and grape crops in much of the province.
The apple harvest this year is variable, Arts said.
However, despite a bumper crop, fruit growers are struggling with low prices.
Arts said part of the reason for the low cost has been the result of a tariff war between the United States and China.
He said China has imposed massive tariffs on American cherries, and as a result, the United States is not able to sell into the Chinese market.
Instead, the American cherry crop is being sold in the U.S., with some being sold on Canadian grocery shelves as well.
Arts said the decision by grocery chains to buy American cherries is made because of the price.
“Canadian cherries are globally known as some of the best cherries in the world,” he said, adding that Canadian cherries are sold at premium prices.
The large cherry crop this year, as well as the presence of U.S. cherries, has driven down the prices.
Arts said some fruit growers have left 10 to 30 per cent of their crop on the trees, as the cost of picking this fruit is too high when compared with the price of selling it.
For apple growers, the crop is good, but because of the exceptionally hot summer temperatures, the colour is not the same as customers have seen in the past. Instead, the colour is considerably lighter.
“The fruit tastes the same. It just doesn’t have the same colour,” he said.
He added that for at least the past five years, orchardists have struggled with weather anomalies affecting their fruit harvests. These have included the heat dome in 2021, the cold snap in 2024 and other extreme heat and cold events, all affecting fruit yields.
These conditions all affect the money orchardists can make for their efforts. Some are struggling financially because of the low prices they have experienced.
Arts would like to see a national discussion, involving government, about Canadian food security, as a way to address the ongoing challenges facing orchardists and other food producers.
“We cannot do without food and water,” he said.
