BCTF Cooperative and Sandhu Fruit Farm Form Strategic Partnership

The BC Tree Fruit Cooperative has signed a deal for the packing of export cherries grown in the Okanagan, Creston and Similkameen Valleys.

The agreement with Mangal Capital will give coop members access to the Sandhu Fruit Farm’s advanced Unitec Cherry Vision 3.0 sorting and packing technology.

“The strategic partnership with Sandhu Fruit Farm is an opportunity for the Cooperative’s export cherry growers to have their product packed on one of the best lines in the world,” says Warren Sarafinchan, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCTFC.

“Our BCTFC brand is extremely strong in Asia and this opportunity will maximize returns for our export growers. We look forward to a strong season as we pool our collective knowledge and resources to bring high quality BC cherries to the world.”

The BC Tree Fruit Cooperative represents 250 growers in the province. The majority of them grow apples and cherries, but there are also several who grow pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, prunes, plums and table grapes.

The organization has recently gone through a controversial reorganization in which its packing house in the Central Okanagan was closed, and operations consolidated at the existing Oliver site, which will undergo significant upgrades.

In the meantime, the agreement with Sandhu Fruit Farm provides more capacity and access to the leading technology for cherry packing.

The cooperative says growers who grow export quality cherries will have even more opportunity to maximize their returns through shared volume and technology, which will enable greater access to markets by air and ocean.

“Sandhu Fruit Farm is excited about the strategic partnership with BCTFC,” says Chanpreet Sandhu, Chief Executive Officer of Sandhu Fruit Farm. “The opportunity for both organizations to utilize their collective strengths to maximize returns for cherry growers is exciting.

“The Unitec technology is second to none,” he added. “Customers around the world are keenly aware of the quality cartons this technology generates, which has resulted in strong prices for fruit packed on this line”. Sandhu Fruit Farm is an independent grower and packer of cherries based in Summerland, BC, and has been exporting cherries to customers located in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia for 14 years.

The deal is seen as key for the cooperative, as cherry exports have soared due to new trade agreements with China and other nations. Cherry production has increased 28% since 2015, not hitting 16,000 tons of fruit annually from 5,000 planted acres.

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Vineyards Burn In Chile

Wildfires in south-central Chile have destroyed wineries and scorched vineyards in a disaster that has left more than 20 people dead.

The runaway wildfire event is similar to some that occurred in British Columbia in 2021, as an extreme weather event drove temperatures to a record 40-degrees Celsius.

The wine regions of Araucanía, Biobío and Ñuble have declared a state of emergency as hundreds of homes were destroyed, affecting more than 1,500 people.

As in BC, climate change has been causing more extreme wildfire behaviour in Chile. In 2017, the nation suffered a similar disaster that left more than 100 vineyards in ruins. The current wildfire has already burned up 40,000 hectares of land. Historic wineries like Leoncio Wines and Altos de Valle were destroyed.

In an interview with Decanter, the UK director at Wines of Chile said, “It’s an incredibly sad and concerning situation and our thoughts are with everyone in the regions that are affected by the fires.

“These regions are the home of Chile’s traditional viticulture and where the oldest vines are located that produce very distinctive wines, made mainly by boutique wineries and growers. We are monitoring the situation closely as reports of those impacted in the region are increasing.”

The Chilean government says the fires were made worse by the impact of global warming, and called the disaster a “wake-up call.”

“Chile is one of the countries with the highest vulnerability to climate change, and this isn’t theory but rather practical experience,’ said Interior Minister Carolina Tohá.