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Dutch Greenhouse Growers Broadside Canadian Pepper Industry.
We thought this would be a good discussion topic. The strong Canadian dollar and aggressive competition is a challenge for most agri products.
Dutch greenhouse growers broadside Canadian pepper industry
From The Grower website.
Author: Karen Davidson
Article: Leamington, ON -- Greenhouse pepper growers are writing off the 2009 season because Holland has been dumping peppers into Canada and the northeastern U.S. since early May at prices one-third below Canadian cost of production. What Ontario growers sold a year ago at $24 - $26 per five-kilogram box is now being offered by the Dutch at $12, explains George Gilvesy, General Manager, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.
“The global economic crisis has caused this situation because Holland’s traditional markets of eastern Europe and Russia can’t guarantee payment,” says Gilvesy. “If the Dutch producers are losing money on their peppers, the
question becomes who is paying for the air freight of $5 to $6 per box?”
A letter was sent to federal minister Gerry Ritz on May 25 compiling the case alleging dumping and asking for the federal government to stop this activity. To date, there has been no official reply. Gilvesy says that copies of Dutch quotes on peppers effective until October 2009 were part of documentation to the federal government. Those quotes indicate that at least some product is coming to Canada without appropriate product-lookup (PLU) codes which makes it easier for peppers to be co-mingled and sold as Canadian product. With Dutch product flooding the marketplace, it’s particularly galling for Ontario growers who have just invested in a high-profile advertising campaign to buy local.
“The irony is that peppers aren’t much cheaper at the retail stores,” says Len Roozen, Chair of the OGVG board. “What we really need to do now is motivate retailers to buy local and to be aware of the trade situation.”
The implications of the unusually high volumes of Dutch peppers are that they have disrupted Canada’s usual marketplace in the northeastern United States. Current prices will also pressure prices on field peppers just coming on stream.
OGVG has garnered support for a policy solution from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association as well as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Horticultural Value Chain Roundtable. Although a countervail action is not practical or timely, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been asked to be more vigilant at the border to supervise proper labeling practices. Of 1800 acres of greenhouse vegetables and fruits grown in Ontario, 525 acres are dedicated to peppers. In dollar terms, $170 million of business is at risk as a result of the Dutch actions.
In a related action, Peter Quiring of Nature Fresh, a 67-acre greenhouse operation in Leamington, is donating 300,000 pounds of bell peppers to the Ontario Association of Food Banks. Mucci Pac is joining that effort. Adam Spence, Executive Director of the food banks says that fresh fruit and vegetables are much needed in this economic downturn. “A provincial tax credit program would help us meet the growing need for more fresh food by providing an incentive for other farmers to donate,” Spence told the Leamington Post. Proposals for such a tax credit are being
submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance.
Dutch greenhouse growers broadside Canadian pepper industry
From The Grower website.
Author: Karen Davidson
Article: Leamington, ON -- Greenhouse pepper growers are writing off the 2009 season because Holland has been dumping peppers into Canada and the northeastern U.S. since early May at prices one-third below Canadian cost of production. What Ontario growers sold a year ago at $24 - $26 per five-kilogram box is now being offered by the Dutch at $12, explains George Gilvesy, General Manager, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.
“The global economic crisis has caused this situation because Holland’s traditional markets of eastern Europe and Russia can’t guarantee payment,” says Gilvesy. “If the Dutch producers are losing money on their peppers, the
question becomes who is paying for the air freight of $5 to $6 per box?”
A letter was sent to federal minister Gerry Ritz on May 25 compiling the case alleging dumping and asking for the federal government to stop this activity. To date, there has been no official reply. Gilvesy says that copies of Dutch quotes on peppers effective until October 2009 were part of documentation to the federal government. Those quotes indicate that at least some product is coming to Canada without appropriate product-lookup (PLU) codes which makes it easier for peppers to be co-mingled and sold as Canadian product. With Dutch product flooding the marketplace, it’s particularly galling for Ontario growers who have just invested in a high-profile advertising campaign to buy local.
“The irony is that peppers aren’t much cheaper at the retail stores,” says Len Roozen, Chair of the OGVG board. “What we really need to do now is motivate retailers to buy local and to be aware of the trade situation.”
The implications of the unusually high volumes of Dutch peppers are that they have disrupted Canada’s usual marketplace in the northeastern United States. Current prices will also pressure prices on field peppers just coming on stream.
OGVG has garnered support for a policy solution from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association as well as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Horticultural Value Chain Roundtable. Although a countervail action is not practical or timely, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been asked to be more vigilant at the border to supervise proper labeling practices. Of 1800 acres of greenhouse vegetables and fruits grown in Ontario, 525 acres are dedicated to peppers. In dollar terms, $170 million of business is at risk as a result of the Dutch actions.
In a related action, Peter Quiring of Nature Fresh, a 67-acre greenhouse operation in Leamington, is donating 300,000 pounds of bell peppers to the Ontario Association of Food Banks. Mucci Pac is joining that effort. Adam Spence, Executive Director of the food banks says that fresh fruit and vegetables are much needed in this economic downturn. “A provincial tax credit program would help us meet the growing need for more fresh food by providing an incentive for other farmers to donate,” Spence told the Leamington Post. Proposals for such a tax credit are being
submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance.
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