America’s blueberry growers including those in California are forming a new coalition called the American Blueberry Growers Alliance.
The goal is to seek relief from rising imports that are harming their business.
The alliance will provide information and support to an ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission investigation into the serious injury caused by increasing imports of fresh, chilled, and frozen blueberries under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Blueberry imports come in from several countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Those imports rose by more than 60 percent from 2015 to 2019.
Imports from Peru and Mexico have increased by 1,200 and 268 percent during that same period, respectively, helping to drive down blueberry prices by double-digits.
Alliance members want bipartisan support from the U.S. government and Congress to use existing trade laws to remedy the injury to U.S. growers.
“We’ve been telling Washington about the unfair trade practices for years,” says Alliance steering committee chair Jerome Crosby.
“Our family farms continue to be harmed by a flood of blueberry imports.
We need relief and for our leaders to stand with American growers.”
The Alliance includes growers from Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and California.
