Fruit industry growing again
Apple trees are in bloom and orchardist Fred Steele is feeling good.
“As a matter of fact, I am quite happy,” said the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association with a smile while standing amid Gala apple trees sporting small white-and-pink flowers at his North Glenmore farm.
“This industry is growing again. Really, it’s a resurgence with the Okanagan industry proving to be a niche market powerhouse with high-quality fruit.”
This week, Statistics Canada released the 2016 agriculture census showing the Okanagan tree fruit sector is recovering after three decades of decline.
The data confirms what Steele and the 500 other orchardists in the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association have been experiencing over the past three years.
“Our restructuring with new varieties and high-density plantings is paying off,” said Steele.
“While the land increase was six per cent, production is up much more. We’re getting more fruit off each acre with highdensity plantings and better practices.”
For instance, total production of tree fruits in the Okanagan in 2016 was 142,000 tons, up 10 per cent from 129,000 tons in 2011.
Apples are still king in the Okanagan tree fruit realm, representing the vast majority of output with 110,000 tons in 2016, up four per cent from 107,000 tons in 2011. Cherries were second with 17,000 tons. While it may look like a distant second, cherries are vitally important to the Okanagan tree fruit recovery.
The 17,000 tons, is a 59 per cent increase from 10,300 tons in 2011.
Higher-density plantings of varieties that ripen throughout the summer make cherries a desirable fruit for the domestic and export market, including niches in Asia willing to pay a premium for perfect, fresh cherries.
In smaller tonnages, peaches, pears, plums, apricots and nectarines round out the Okanagan tree fruit crop.
Over the past 20 years, many apple orchards have also undergone a renaissance.
Higher-density plantings mean more trees and more apples per acre.
Irrigation, pest control, pruning and harvesting are more efficient.
And new varieties are more in demand in both domestic grocery stores and export markets, like Asia, where Canadian apples with new names sell for a premium.
“In the world of apples and cherries, the Okanagan is not a mass market producer like Washington State with its red delicious apples,” said Steele.
“It makes sense for us to produce highquality fruit for niche markets.”
In all, tree fruits is a $715-million-a-year industry in the Okanagan, making it one of the biggest economic generators in the Valley along with forestry, high technology, tourism, manufacturing, aviation, construction-real estate, wine and retail-wholesale-trade.