âOutcome of ITC investigation will affect the entire trade relationship between the US and Mexicoâ
The result of the ITC 201 investigation on imported blueberries will be declared tomorrow, February 11th. Yesterday, FreshPlaza published an article detailing the perspective of the domestic blueberry growers in the United States, featuring Jerome Crosby of the American Blueberry Growers Association. Today, the focus is on the perspective of the importers and foreign producers, with input from the Blueberry Coalition for Progress and Health as well as from Lance Jungmeyer of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
Growth in US demand and per capita consumption
Brad Haire
In December, U.S. blueberry growers launched the American Blueberry Growers Alliance to rally political support and awareness against rising imports. Southeast fruit and vegetable producers face a continued marketing crisis from imports.
Like other U.S. fruit and vegetable growers in recent years, U.S. blueberry producers face a continued marketing crisis from imports and are organizing to address the problem.
Last September in response to industry efforts, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asked the International Trade Commission, or ITC, to start a Section 201 global safeguard investigation into increased blueberry imports and if they caused injury or threat to U.S. blueberry growers.
U.S. blueberry industry groups testify at ITC trade hearing
January 13 , 2021
Groups representing two different sectors of the U.S. blueberry industry testified on Tuesday at a hearing before the U.S. International Trade Commission, as part of its probe into whether foreign trading partners are seriously harming domestic growers.
The Blueberry Coalition for Progress and Health, which was announced last week, maintains that imports haven t hurt domestic farmers and have in fact helped to grow the market to the benefit of all.
The American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA) meanwhile claimed rising Latin American imports in the spring and fall were responsible for a sharp decline in prices over recent years.
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Members of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA), a group representing U.S. domestic blueberry farmers, today provided information to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) during a hearing on the impact of rising imports during the U.S. growing and harvest seasons. American blueberry growers across the country – mostly small, family-run farms – have been devastated by an influx in blueberry imports by 75 percent in the past five years, according to U.S. import data. Because of booming domestic demand, we should be enjoying a market in which there is room for both domestic and foreign growers to profit, said Jerome Crosby, Chairman of the ABGA Board of Directors and owner of Pineneedle Farms in Willacoochee, Georgia. However, foreign government policies targeting the United States market and large corporate import interests have combined to bring massive volumes of blueberries
Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
Dec 22, 2020 1:15 PM
America’s blueberry growers established 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 pract