Brad Haire
In December, U.S. blueberry growers launched the American Blueberry Growers Alliance to rally political support and awareness against rising imports. Southeast fruit and vegetable producers face a continued marketing crisis from imports.
Like other U.S. fruit and vegetable growers in recent years, U.S. blueberry producers face a continued marketing crisis from imports and are organizing to address the problem.
Last September in response to industry efforts, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asked the International Trade Commission, or ITC, to start a Section 201 global safeguard investigation into increased blueberry imports and if they caused injury or threat to U.S. blueberry growers.
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Members of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA), a group representing U.S. domestic blueberry farmers, today provided information to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) during a hearing on the impact of rising imports during the U.S. growing and harvest seasons. American blueberry growers across the country – mostly small, family-run farms – have been devastated by an influx in blueberry imports by 75 percent in the past five years, according to U.S. import data. Because of booming domestic demand, we should be enjoying a market in which there is room for both domestic and foreign growers to profit, said Jerome Crosby, Chairman of the ABGA Board of Directors and owner of Pineneedle Farms in Willacoochee, Georgia. However, foreign government policies targeting the United States market and large corporate import interests have combined to bring massive volumes of blueberries
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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.