A group that has provided storage and packing services for British Columbia fruit growers for almost 90 years has filed for creditor protection after receiving a bank repayment notice.
A statement from the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative issued Monday says the decision to file for creditor protection stems from the group’s “liquidity crisis,” with stone fruit crops damaged by weather identified as “the final tipping point” in a series of factors.
The co-operative announced last month that it was shutting down due to “extremely low” estimated fruit volumes, and “difficult market and financial conditions.”
It says the group received a notice from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada last Tuesday demanding repayment of debt, then filed for creditor protection in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday in an effort to “maximize recovery for all stakeholders.”
A hearing is scheduled in Vancouver on Tuesday, and the group says it’s seeking a stay of all proceedings against the co-operative for 10 days, the appointment of a monitor, approval of interim financing, and the scheduling of a subsequent hearing.
Jennifer Deol of There and Back Again Farms had to remove peach trees from her Okanagan farm after a cold snap all but destroyed the stone fruit harvest in the region. Now, she says the region’s farmers are reeling from the shutdown of the Tree Fruits co-operative.
Premier David Eby and Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis are set to provide an update about support for fruit growers at a news conference in Penticton, B.C., on Tuesday.
An extreme cold spell in January wiped out almost all of B.C.’s peaches, apricots and nectarines for the year and severely damaged cherry orchards.
Fruit-growing regions of the southern Interior saw several days of frigid temperatures that killed off active buds in trees that had only just begun to recover from the 2021 heat dome and had gone through a harsh winter in 2022.