Fruit growers worried

The B.C. Fruit Growers Association is concerned about an upcoming jump in minimum wage requirements and a hike in water usage rates, on top of two years of low returns. 

The group held their 130th Annual General Meeting at the Penticton Lakeside Resort Tuesday and Wednesday, discussing a variety of pressing topics over the two-day conference.

President Pinder Dhaliwal said the past two years have been difficult for growers around the Okanagan. 

"The lower returns that we had for the 2017 crop, and the 2018 right now is also bringing in lower returns, so that's one of our top priorities right now," he said. 

Rising costs looking into the 2019 won't make compensating for those losses any easier, he added. Minimum wage for farm workers in B.C. will jump from $12.65 an hour to $13.85 an hour on June first — a rapid change Dhaliwal said isn't realistic for the fruit industry to handle because they can't set their own prices.

He's proud of the Okanagan's reputation worldwide as a premium fruit-producing area, but disappointed the prices don't reflect those accolades. 

"It's all supply and demand and the buyers set the price basically," he said. "The consumers say something else, but I guess their action is different from what appears in the supermarket and pricing." 

Another concern is water prices.

"The water per acre rates are going up," Dhaliwal said "It's expected in some regions they're going to go up 20 per cent and other regions, in Kelowna, they're going to go up 35 per cent. So we want to make sure that we have the right amount of water, and security and affordability of water for agriculture."

The executives also heard a presentation from the BC Agriculture Council. They were asked about fencing options to keep out wildlife and people on private land if the proposed South Okanagan National Park goes through, and reminded attendees about housing regulations for temporary workers living on their lands. 

The council promised fencing concerns regarding the potential national park are on their radar. 

The AGM had a modest turnout, with some key speakers like Veronica Moreno of the BC Agriculture Council due to speak about labour programs including foreign workers, cancelled last minute due to snowy weather.