Blueberry growers say imports causing injury to U.S. market

摘要

FOR REX SCHULTZ, the retirement he'd planned from his full-time management job at True Blue Farms will likely be pushed back.He had hoped to concentrate solely on his 60 acres of blueberries on his Heritage Blueberry Farm in Bangor, Mich."But the profits are not there anymore," he explains. Massive imports from mainly Canada, Mexico and Peru have diluted the market."In the last five years, we've lost over 30% of our pricing, combined with a 15% to 20% increase in inputs; we're talking a hit of basically 45% to 50%," Schultz adds.Before the blueberry industry implodes, growers across America are fighting back by establishing a new coalition—American Blueberry Growers Alliance—to seek relief from rising imports that are threatening their livelihoods.