The long-awaited hearing with the International Trade Commission (ITC) for blueberry farmers has come and gone. The case against blueberry imports from foreign competitors has been made.
Now what happens?
Bob Redding, who works for the Redding Firm and serves as a lobbyist for agricultural groups in Washington, D.C., outlines the potential outcomes that will occur following Tuesday’s hearing. It all depends on the recommendations the ITC makes to President-Elect Joe Biden and what path he chooses to take after assumes office.
Potential Outcomes
“The president can ignore it, change it or accept it. This will be quickly, after the ITC action, a political issue again with the administration. Having said that, we do not know the position of the president yet, on this issue. It’s too early,” Redding said.
“We need to get a U.S. Trade Rep in place first and we will start working with them, our congressional delegations start working with them to hopefully get a good position on that issue.”
The case was made tougher considering the American Blueberry Growers Alliance’s opposition.
“We have a lot of groups against us. A lot of the countries that are pushing product at a bad time of the year have hired up lawyers, economists, lobbyists and consultants to fight the American Blueberry Growers Alliance position in trying to get relief from seasonal imports at the ITC,” Redding said.
Blueberry growers and industry leaders in the Southeast had their say on Tuesday about unfair trade practices regarding imports from foreign countries, including Mexico.
They testified during a virtual hearing with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding a global safeguard investigation into fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries.
Jerome Crosby, Georgia blueberry grower and chairman of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, testified about the importance of the Alliance’s formation and its role in protecting its domestic crop.
“We officially launched our Alliance in December for the same reasons we are before you today. The U.S. blueberry growers needed a new approach to protect and secure the future of their farms and to respond to the assault on the U.S. market by blueberry imports,” Crosby said. “We require a strong and unified voice for the U.S. blueberry grower without the influence of domestic or foreign marketer or retailers seeking lower and lower prices.”
Increased Imports
Crosby said imports of fresh blueberries have increased 75% over the past five years. It is only expected to worsen as prices and profits continue to plummet for U.S. producers.
“We fully expect a variable tidal wave of imported blueberries in the next several years,” Crosby said. “Substantial portions of the industry report losses on an operating and net income basis. Packing and freezing facilities have been shuttered. Blueberry acreage has declined.
“The injury to the domestic industry is serious, clear and wide spread. It’s caused by the flood of imports into the U.S. market.”
Blueberry farmers from across the United States are asking the ITC for temporary relief from a surge in imports that are harming the domestic industry
WASHINGTON, January 12, 2021 – 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% 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 into our market, increasingly during periods that in the past provided growers with the bulk of their revenues and often all of their profits for the year.”
“The massive increase in Mexican imports during our harvesting season has crippled the Florida blueberry industry and threatens its very existence,” said Brittany Lee, Executive Director of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association and owner of Florida Blue Farms. “Over the period 2009 to 2019, we saw imports from Mexico increase by 2,111%. We have experienced a significant decline in price per pound for fresh blueberries in Florida, and a huge loss of market share.”
Farmers said the U.S. blueberry industry has made extensive marketing efforts over many years to educate purchasers and consumers about blueberries, which has increased demand.
“Foreign producers are taking the benefit of those efforts, in some instances by creating industries out of nothing and exploiting cheap labor and poor environmental regulation overseas,” said Rex Schultz of Heritage Blueberries in Bangor, Michigan and President of the Michigan Blueberry Advisory Committee. “Producers in foreign countries are totally dependent on our market, and they have every incentive to keep shipping more and more product here. This is not a sustainable situation for the American blueberry farmer.”
Imports have also had a devastating effect on blueberry farmers in Western states.
“Ten years ago, imports filled an important role by ensuring supply of fresh berries in the few months is no longer the case,” said Jayson Scarborough, a blueberry farmer in Central California. “Imports from Mexico and Peru, in particular, now enter our market throughout our harvesting period in California. Prices for these imported berries are extremely low, which means that when we begin to sell our harvests, the price point has already deteriorated significantly due to the presence of large volumes of imported fruit in the market.”
Farmers said that massive amounts of fresh blueberries coming in from Mexico and South America often arrive without a buyer.
“Peruvian product can arrive in massive shipments, with hundreds of thousands and even millions of pounds of perishable fresh blueberries on one ocean-going vessel that has been in transit at least two weeks before being unloaded at U.S. ports,” said Shelly Hartmann, owner of True Blue Farms in Grand Junction, Michigan. “When these blueberries are released all at once onto the fresh market, they cause prices to crater. This pushes domestic production of blueberries grown for the fresh market into the frozen market.”
In addition, several members of Congress also testified before the ITC in support of American blueberry growers, including Reps. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.), Gregory Steube (R-Fla.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.).
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is conducting a global safeguard investigation into imported fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ITC will determine if the dramatic increase of foreign berries is “a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof” to American blueberry growers.
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About American Blueberry Growers Alliance
American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA) is a national association representing blueberry growers and farmers in the United States. ABGA provides a unified voice for blueberry growers in states across the country, including California, Florida, Georgia and Michigan, advocating on behalf of their interests and for the long-term viability of the domestic blueberry industry. For more information, visit: americanblueberrygrowers.com.
Nikki Fried, Florida Ag Commissioner, testified on Tuesday during a virtual hearing with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding a global safeguard investigation into fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries.
The investigation centers on unfair trade practices regarding blueberry imports from foreign countries, including Mexico.
Nikki Fried
Fried stated that Florida has a $62.3 million blueberry industry but its market share has declined by 38% since 2015. It has resulted in $67 million in potential production.
She added that Mexico’s market share has increased by 2,100% since 2009.
U.S. Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) testified on Tuesday during a virtual hearing with the U.S. International Trade Commission regarding a global safeguard investigation into fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries.
Austin Scott
The investigation centers on unfair trade practices regarding blueberry imports from foreign countries, including Mexico.
The Georgia Blueberry Commission is taking nominations for a person to fill the unexpired term of Russ Goodman. The deadline for applications is Jan. 31, 2021. If interested, a person must be a grower of blueberries in Georgia and must be willing to commit to meetings and activities of the Blueberry Commission. The term will end the Summer of 2023.
Goodman is stepping down from duties as a member of the Blueberry Commission to allow more time to devote to his responsibilities of representing District 8 in the Georgia State Senate.
Orange-colored blueberry leaf rust pustules can be seen on leaf undersides. Photo by Jonathan Oliver.
By Jonathan Oliver
In 2020, mild winter conditions followed by a wet spring contributed to the development of significant disease issues on Georgia blueberries. Among other issues, growers faced difficulties with preharvest and postharvest fruit rots and continuing problems with spring blueberry leaf rust epidemics.
The fruit pathology program at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Tifton conducts trials to determine fungicide efficacy and optimal application timings. Disease management information is provided to blueberry growers through the UGA Cooperative Extension Service, the Southeast Regional Blueberry Integrated Management Guide (smallfruits.org/ipm-production-guides/) and the free MyIPM smartphone app.
FUNGICIDE-RESISTANT RIPE ROT
During the 2020 growing season, Georgia blueberry growers faced challenges from fruit rots including ripe rot caused by the fungi Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. acutatum. Development of ripe rot (also called anthracnose fruit rot) is favored by warm, wet conditions. Fungal infection can occur from bloom up until harvest, though symptoms do not typically appear until fruit begin to ripen.
The spores of the fungus that cause ripe rot can easily spread from berry to berry via rain splash, in packing lines or in clamshells. Typically, field applications of QoI (strobilurin) fungicides such as Abound (azoxystrobin), Pristine (pryaclostrobin + boscalid) and Quilt Xcel (azoxystrobin + propiconazole) provide excellent ripe rot control. However, in recent years, C. gloeosporioides isolates from blueberry with resistance to QoI fungicides have been identified in Georgia and elsewhere in the southeastern United States.
Blueberry leaf rust damage is visible on the top of the fruit. Photo by Jonathan Oliver.
To provide growers with needed information regarding alternative fungicides for ripe rot management, the UGA-Tifton Fruit Pathology Laboratory and UGA Cooperative Extension personnel conducted trials during 2020 to evaluate fungicidal spray programs for control of ripe rot and other fruit rot disease issues. In these trials, spray programs which incorporated applications of Switch (cyprodinil + fludioxonil), Captan (captan), Miravis Prime (pydiflumetofen + fludioxonil), Omega (fluazinam) and Ziram (ziram) were the most effective at reducing fruit rots in general and ripe rot in particular.
To manage ripe rot, applications of effective fungicides beginning at early bloom and continuing every seven to 14 days through preharvest are recommended. Growers are reminded that rotations of the available modes of action (and/or tank mixes with multi-site products such as captan) are encouraged to reduce the chances of continued fungicide resistance development in the pathogen population.
Ripe rot is also known as anthracnose fruit rot. Photo by Jonathan Oliver.
In addition, when developing a spray program for fruit rots, growers should be aware of the preharvest interval (PHI) of these products, including Ziram (which should not be used more than three weeks after full bloom), Omega (which should not be used within 30 days of harvest) and Quilt Xcel (also a 30-day PHI). Consult the various labels for rates, recommendations and precautions.
BLUEBERRY LEAF RUST
Blueberry leaf rust (caused by the fungus Pucciniastrum vaccinii) is most frequently associated with causing leaf spots and premature defoliation after harvest. However, Georgia blueberry growers have also experienced significant spring epidemics of leaf rust in recent years that can directly impact developing fruit. These spring epidemics are likely the result of increasingly mild winters that allow blueberry leaves infected during the previous season to persist through the winter and serve as sources for disease spread early in the subsequent season.
Recent trial work carried out by the UGA-Tifton Fruit Pathology Laboratory reinforces the importance of spring fungicide applications for leaf rust management. Applications of effective demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides during the spring were found to significantly decrease the development of leaf rust throughout the growing season. Two spring applications of Proline (prothioconazole) were capable of controlling leaf rust and measurably reduced disease throughout the full season, regardless of whether effective fungicides were used after harvest.
While postharvest applications are still recommended to prevent premature defoliation due to blueberry leaf rust, this trial work highlighted the particular importance of spring fungicide applications for leaf rust management in conditions of high disease pressure. Growers should be aware that leaf rust epidemics can start early following mild winter conditions and consider early-season applications with DMI fungicides for rust management. DMI fungicides with very good to excellent efficacy against rust include Proline, Quash (metconazole) and Quilt Xcel. Consult the various labels for rates, recommendations and precautions.
One agricultural lobbyist believes next Tuesday’s hearing with the International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding blueberry imports is a “story of David and Goliath.”
Bob Redding, who works for the Redding Firm and serves as a lobbyist for agricultural groups in Washington, D.C., believes the American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA) has a strong case to make to the ITC against the imports of blueberries from other countries, including Mexico. But cases will also be made from groups who oppose ABGA’s position.
Redding Comments
Redding
“Once the administration initiated with the ITC the Section 201 investigation, most of these blueberry countries that are blueberry exporters that have been saturating the markets during our growing season, our marketing season, they hired attorneys here and formed organizations. At least one new organization was formed to stop the 201 or to influence the 201 fight or advocate against the position of U.S. blueberry growers,” Redding said.
“It is a story of David and Goliath. I don’t know any other way to put it. The U.S. growers have been impacted negatively. It’s become increasingly problematic as far as marketing and selling at a fair price that would allow these growers to make a profit. They don’t see how over the long run that they survive selling below what their cost of production is.”
Final Decision Rests with the President
Redding also cautions Southeast producers that the final decision will rest with President-Elect Joe Biden and his administration. He will make a decision based on the recommendations from the ITC.
“We do not know their position on this. I’m sure they don’t have one yet. We have a new U.S. Trade Representative. Ambassador (Robert) Lighthizer initiated this and the administration with the ITC. We know how they felt about it,” Redding said. “We will have a confirmation process in the Senate for the new U.S. Trade Rep. Soon thereafter, we’ll start talking with the political folks in the new administration about this issue. I would think that nomination would move through prior to this case finishing up with the ITC.”
Hearing is Necessary
From a blueberry producer’s standpoint, Tuesday’s hearing is necessary because of the disruption in the marketplace from foreign imports.
According to the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Marketing Service reported a 68% increase in imported fruit from Mexico from 2019 to 2020, amounting to more than 15 million pounds of fresh blueberries during a 14-week period. Mexico, along with Peru, Chile, Canada and Argentina account for more than 98% of total U.S. imports. Import values increased from $530 million in 2014 to $1.2 billion in 2019.
This drastically impacts the market for producers in blueberry-producing states, including Georgia and Florida.
ABGA’s Position
The ABGA’s position is that American blueberry producers need protection from rising imports from foreign markets, especially during the U.S. growing and harvest season.
“The numbers are very frightening. They just can’t continue to operate with the market being flooded like this. It just doesn’t work,” Redding said. “You look at the compliance variables that U.S. growers have to adhere to, wage rates. If you’re H-2A, you know what those rates are in the Southeast. That is an expensive program, expensive from an administrative position, running those programs and expensive from a wage rate and housing and all that’s being provided; transportation. These countries don’t have to do that.”
American producers also have to contend with environmental variables and food safety variables; much higher standards than the countries exporting to U.S.
“It’s about fairness. It’s about a level playing field. If our growers had the same variables, our growers know they can compete with these countries. But we’re dealing with a different set of rules. They don’t play by the same rules we do,” Redding said.
Blueberry growers will soon have a chance to make their case against unfair trade practices from Mexico and other countries.
Jerome Crosby, Georgia blueberry grower and chairman of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, confirmed on Tuesday during the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference that the group will present their case to the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
“On Jan. 12, we will be providing physical testimony to the ITC Committee. All parties of leadership will be at the table. We will be speaking directly to the commissioners. We will be presenting our cases and our comments. Those of us who are making comments, we will be putting those comments in under a signed affidavit. This is where the rubber meets the road,” Crosby said.
Crosby said the blueberry group will have 60 minutes to make its case on Jan. 12, which will include testimony from legislative delegation from all states and featured speakers, including Crosby and Brittany Lee, Executive Director of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association.
However, Crosby also cautions that groups who oppose the 201 investigation will have the same amount of time to present their cases. So, it is not a slam dunk that the ITC will issue a remedy.
“It’s going to be one hour of us versus maybe five, six or seven hours of opposition. I still feel good about our case because the data and the facts are on our side. We’ve got good numbers. We’ve got a good team working with us. We’re doing all the right things,” Crosby said. “But to say it’s not a little bit intimidating would be misleading you. We’ve got a big mountain to climb.”
Crosby added that after the Jan. 12 meeting, the ITC will have 30 days to file a report.
Virtual Hearings
The meeting with the ITC stems from virtual hearings held last August. The two hearings provided the U.S. Department of Commerce and Trump Administration an opportunity to hear from seasonal produce growers in Georgia and Florida about the urgent need for federal action regarding unfair trade.
Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference
The conference, which is normally held in January in Savannah, is being held virtually this year due to COVID-19 concerns. The three-day event will be held through Thursday, Jan. 7.
For more information, or to register for the event, click here.
Chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis, was first detected in southern highbush blueberries in Florida in Orange, Sumter and Hernando counties during the summer of 2008. It is a major pest of many host plants, including vegetable, ornamental and fruit crops.
Figure 2. Deformed leaves are the result of chilli thrips feeding.
FEEDING DAMAGE
In blueberry, chilli thrips feed on young leaves, causing leaf bronzing (Figure 1) and shoot dieback in late spring to early summer shortly after the bushes are pruned. Some infestation symptoms include the edges around younger leaves and stems are eaten, and bushes become pale green with deformed leaves (Figure 2). During a heavy infestation, blueberry cupped leaves are quite noticeable, with larger leaves curving inward (Figure 3).
Overall, chilli thrips affect plant vigor and reduce the number of berries the following season.
IDENTIFICATION AND LIFE STAGES
Figure 3. Blueberry cupped leaves are a symptom of chilli thrips infestation.
Chilli thrips are smaller than flower thrips and are approximately 0.04 of an inch long. They have dark fringed wings and dark spots across the back of the abdomen (Figure 4).
Chilli thrips have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult, including two actively feeding larval instars and two non-feeding pupal instars. Female thripsinsert their eggs into blueberry tissues, and the eggs hatch in about six to eight days. Females are capable of laying between 60 to 200 eggs.
Newly hatched larvae pass through two larval stages (first instar and second instar). These larval instars last for about six to eight days, during which time they feed on blueberry tissues. They then pass through a prepupal and a pupal stage, during which time they do not feed. Chilli thrips complete their life cycle in 17 to 21 days under ideal conditions.
In Florida, most of the chilli thrips outbreaks in blueberries were recorded from late May to September on new growth.
Figure 4. Adult chilli thrips have fringed wings.
Photo by Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida
MANAGEMENT METHODS
Chemical insecticides including the use of Delegate® (spinetoram), Apta® (tolfenpyrad), Rimon® (novaluron), Assail® (acetamiprid) and Sivanto® (flupyradifurone) are the primary means to manage chilli thrips populations in blueberries.
Delegate® is effective in controlling larvae and adult chilli thrips. Apta® inhibits feeding of larval and adult thrips. Rimon® affects egg and larval development due to its growth regulator characteristics. Assail® is a neonicotinoid insecticide that can control larvae and adults due to systemic qualities. Sivanto® also controls larval and adult thrips and behaves similarly to neonicotinoids.
In organic production, Entrust® (spinosad) is the primary insecticide tactic. However, Azera® (pyrethrins + azadirachtin) and PyGanic (pyrethrins) can also be used in organic production.
Management for chilli thrips includes eliminating host plants, including weeds, that support their growth and development. Beneficial insect predators such as Geocoris spp. and Oriusinsidiosus feed on thrips and need to be considered when using chemical pesticides.
