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Weather delaying fruit crops across B.C.

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Weather delaying fruit crops across B.C.

The unseasonably cold weather has stalled many of the crops in British Columbia.

June 16, 2008, Vancouver, B.C. – The unseasonably cold weather has stalled many of the crops in British Columbia.

It’s been dubbed “Juneuary” – long stretches of cold, wet days in a month that should be filled with sunshine.

The president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association Joe Sardinha said harvesters started getting nervous back in April, when record lows were recorded in the Okanagan, where many of the province’s crops are grown.

He said many cherries and apples were close to being ruined.

“What really saved us was that it wasn’t the same degree of coldness across the valley,” Sardinha said.

Crops are about a week to 10 days behind as a result and Sardinha admitted that things could have been much worse.

“We were spared a heck of a lot more damage than we could have had by the simple fact things were behind,” he said. “It wasn’t as if we had a prolonged warm spell that brought fruit trees along to the stage where they would have been more susceptible to fruit damage.”

Cherries, pears, apricots crops all took a hit with some growers harvesting smaller volumes as a result. Peaches, nectarines and plums weren’t affected by the weather.

“We can handle the odd shower, it’s just those day-long soaker rains that do a lot of damage,” he said.

Customers might notice a slight difference in pricing, particularly with cherries, Sardinha said.

Luckily, crops in the province could be out of danger. Warm weather is expected across B.C. for several days.