Peach growers in California who sell their fruit to the canned and frozen fruit markets are pulling out peach trees in order to offset a glut in the market and enable them to compete with foreign growers.
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“We have too many peaches. The Greek imports are just hammering us,” Ajayab Dhaddey, who directs field operations for the California Canning Peach Association, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
The canning association, which represents around 80% of growers of canning peaches in the state, said imports from Argentina, Australia, Chile and South Africa have led to a glut in the canned peach industry.
Peach imports have increased from 1 million to 3 million cases in the past three years, according to the association. US farmers have found it difficult to compete with subsidised imports from Greece and Spain, reported the Associated Press.
The canning association approved the tree-pull programme in December to help combat the glut. The programme, which has attracted 83 growers, is expected to eliminate around 1.5 million cases of peaches. Growers participating in the programme agree to not plant peach trees for five years if they do not have a contract with a cannery. They will be compensated for pulling out trees with money from the fees they have paid to the association.
