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Cranberries Adrift on the Waves of a Global Economy

By Doanne Marks Andresen

 

I am a cranberry grower working a bog that was productive in the 1800’s. I am witnessing the end of our farming heritage as cranberry bogs become overgrown or bought up by large global corporations that survive in the industry. The Massachusetts cranberry bog, operated as a family farm, may only survive as a tourism enterprise preserved for historical reasons.

About 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts are struggling to survive in an enterprise that provides historical, economical and environmental benefits to a state that is being overtaken by suburban sprawl.

These Massachusetts cranberry growers are competing in an oversupplied market with growers from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, and Maine. Now, they also face new international competition for the marketing of their Native American fruit. The global economy has challenged the small family farm with worldwide competition.

The Cranberry Marketing Committee states that "Over the last ten years producing acreage in the U. S. has increased 26.5 percent." State regulations as well as land costs have made it difficult for the Massachusetts cranberry grower to expand.

The American Cranberry is cresting atop a breaking wave with a surge of berries flooding the market. It is one of many United States agricultural products riding on the turbulent waves of a global economy. This native vine has been exported to foreign markets along with intellectual knowledge of how to grow cranberries productively. The berries are being returned as imports to compete in the U.S. market.

Canada is rapidly increasing its cranberry production and exporting the cranberries to the United States. In 1994, NAFTA, The North American Free Trade Agreement encouraged the United States, Canada, and Mexico to develop international and regional standards that also recognizes each country’s right to determine the necessary level of protection. This agreement was expected to help the U. S. compete in a global marketplace. But the U.S. agricultural export market is shrinking instead of expanding.

Since NAFTA was signed, Canadian growers have been encouraged to plant cranberry bogs. It takes three growing seasons before these bogs produce. Now ninety percent of the Canadian berries are being imported to the United States. This season, bog expansion continues in Canada as Massachusetts growers are forced to sell their berries at a loss.

 

Chart on Production of Cranberry Production in Canada 1993 to 1997

Can be found at http://www.agr.ca/hort/enfruits.html

Most of the Canadian Cranberries are imported to the United States.

The Cranberry Marketing Committee, of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, records cranberry inventory and estimates production, supply, sales, and inventory for the next year and future years. David Farrimond, Executive Director, estimates that Canadian farms will produce a nine percent increase over last year’s production with 650,000 barrels. This surplus may swell to 752,000 barrels by the year 2002.

The Cranberry Marketing Committee issued a special report in March predicting that the demand for cranberries in the market will continue to be oversupplied by expanding production in the United States. This report states that "over the last ten years, producing acreage in the United States has increased 26.5 percent." There are more than 2,500,000 million barrels of cranberries that were not sold in 1999. This surplus is projected to increase by 500,000 for 2000. The problem of the U.S. surplus is compounded by the imports from Canada.

The American farmer needs to be exporting their product to compete in the global economy. On April 2, 1999 the USDA issued a report stating that the U.S. farm economy "will be adjusting to weak demand and large global supplies in the next few years."

Canadian cranberry growers are not regulated by the same government agencies that regulate the Massachusetts grower. They have different environmental regulations affecting the growth of individual businesses. They have different pesticide regulations. They have a superior crop insurance program that helps to protect them in economic downturns as well as weather-related crop reductions. They have reduced overhead costs because land and labor are cheaper.

A NAFTA Committee on Agricultural Trade was established to provide a forum for Canada, the United States, and Mexico to address concerns related to the implementation of the agreement. Special provisions were included to provide relief against import surges.

Import quantities can be limited and tariffs can be imposed on some crops that have been adversely affected by import competition. The United States has applied these conditions on imports of onions, tomatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, squash, and watermelons.

But there are not many Massachusetts cranberry growers operating as a small family farm. They do not have the loud voice required to be heard in the political negotiations that affect the global marketplace. The heritage of the cranberry bog as a family farm enterprise is disappearing as we enter the twenty-first century.

 

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