Private industry stepping up in wake of BC Tree Fruits collapse

More private companies in the tree fruits sector are stepping up to help growers as the countdown to the end of BC Tree Fruits court-ordered sale process looms closer.

The sale allows for bids for the entire block of BCTFC assets to be accepted until Sept. 27, with a final bid deadline date for individual assets set for Oct. 18. The entire sale process is proposed to close on Nov. 30.

Friday, Novem Pharmaceuticals entered into a lease agreement for the former BCTFC cold atmosphere storage facility on Sexsmith Road.

"It's about 25 million pounds of fruit that will be able to be stored in this facility. So it was complicated from the standpoint of getting the emergency lease and being able to operate it," said Novem Pharmaceuticals CEO Colin Davison, explaining that facility makes up about 20% of the province's controlled ambient storage.

Two other local companies have now stepped up to provide controlled atmosphere storage and other incentives.

Farming Karma will be sub-leasing space at the Sexsmith Road facility, allowing farmers to store their fruit. The company is also offering incentives like no charges for cull fruit, early advance payment to help growers with cash flow, and full transparency in the packing process.

"Farmers needing assistance or more information about the program are encouraged to contact Farming Karma for support," says Binny Boparai-Gill, owner of Farming Karma.

Sandher Fruit Packers, meanwhile, say they have supported 11 more local growers in getting more than 12 million pounds of their apples stored, packed and shipped to their customers.

“For nearly 40 years, my family and I have proudly tended to B.C. orchards,” said Bill Sandher, founder of Sandher Fruit Packers.

“Over this time, our industry and region have faced and overcome adversities with collective hard effort. By working together, we can sustain our local fruit industry through this difficult period, keep our teams employed, and continue to deliver the best of our region to the world.”

Sandher Fruit Packers says they plan to process their harvest along with this additional volume through a paid service agreement with the City of Kelowna for processing water used in the Sandher fruit washing and packing line.

This move by Sandher will enable the storage of more than 39 million pounds of fruit from area farms.

"The closure of BC Tree Fruits was scary for our family farm. Growing fruit these days is challenging and losing our packing and distribution partner made things even harder," said Kabal Randhawa of Randhawa orchards. "The kindness shown by Sandher Fruit Packers has given me hope that we can get through this."

But not everyone is happy about the latest developments.

Amarjit Lalli, a former B.C. Tree Fruits board member, is still holding out hope that BCTFC can be saved and preserved.

"We're not asking for a bailout. All we're asking for from the government is to back our loan, get the bank off our back, and then we've got more than enough assets within our organization to restructure the organization to make it efficient," he said.

"All we're saying is backstop our loan for a couple years until we sort all this mess out."

A group of demonstrators protesting the sale and breakup of BCTFC are holding another demonstration on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. on Abbott Street by City Park.

“We are stakeholders of the co-op and are not being consulted and heard by BCTF leadership and the government. We need the provincial and federal governments to back our demands and give us full access to our assets like bins and storage to get through the season, not funnel more money to the private industry to buy our assets," says Kelly Wander, an Okanagan farmer.