U.S. blueberry growers form new alliance to seek relief from imports
December 17 , 2020
U.S. blueberry growers have established a new coalition, the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, to seek relief from rising imports that they say are harming their businesses.
The Alliance will provide information and support to an ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation into the serious injury caused by increased imports of fresh, chilled and frozen blueberries under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Blueberry imports are sourced from several countries in the Western Hemisphere, and imports into the U.S. rose by more than 60 percent between 2015 and 2019, according to a release from the Alliance.
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ Blueberry growers across America today established a new coalition, the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, to seek relief from rising imports that are harming their businesses. The Alliance will provide information and support to an ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation into the serious injury caused by increased imports of fresh, chilled and frozen blueberries under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Blueberry imports are sourced from several countries in the Western Hemisphere. Imports rose by more than 60 percent between 2015 and 2019. Imports from Peru and Mexico have increased by 1,258 and 268 percent during that same period, respectively, driving blueberry prices down by double digits, which has had a devastating impact on the domestic blueberry industry.
we re in a blueberry patch. i ll use this as an example. a big box of blueberries in the united states, the farmer needs to get $21 for it. from mexico, they need 16. so you re talking about a differential of about 25 to 35%. that makes it impossible to compete. here s jerome crosby. he works blueberries and other crops. you say the president is listening but you need more. tell me about that. we re trying to have a conversation with the administration to make them aware of our needs to battle the imports from mexico. it s true that their imports drop our prices 25 to 30%. we hope that the administration will work with us to find avenues for us to compete with that and overcome those hurdles. the biggest problem is the labor cost difference. it s the biggest piece of that puzzle.