If you’ve been to a grocery store recently, you may have noticed Quebec Strawberries Usually more expensive than those imported from the United States and other countries.
At the Esposito grocery store in Montreal's NDG neighbourhood on Tuesday, strawberries from California were selling for $3.99, while FraiseBec strawberries grown in Quebec were selling for $6.99.
“It's certainly something that bothers us,” said Jasmine Sauvé, director general of the Quebec Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Growers.
A sunny spring has allowed berries in Quebec to ripen two weeks earlier than usual, but according to Sauvé, the early harvest coincides with peak production in California.
She said foreign producers have too many strawberries and are dumping them here, sometimes selling them at a loss.
“It’s not easy for us to have these prices at the beginning of the season,” said Pier-Luc Deschamps, operations director for FraiseBec, a producer in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. “The prices are now well below our production costs.”
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He is delighted by the joy of an early harvest, but he also knows his berry business is at a disadvantage with cheap foreign products currently flooding the shelves.
“What they do is dump their surplus strawberries into our market and sell them together with our Quebec strawberries. It's difficult,” said Sauve.
Quebec producers like FraiseBec can't lower their prices to compete because they say strawberries here cost more to produce.
“Our minimum wage is higher, we have labour laws, we have environmental standards. Even the container costs are higher, so all this has a cost,” said Sowe.
Deschamps, who sells to dozens of grocery stores in the Montreal area, says most of the berries you buy are picked that day from local farms.
“The quality is excellent. It’s really impressive,” he said. “We need to let customers know that these products are in the market now.”
He says these products are much better than those from California or Mexico that may have traveled thousands of kilometers to reach your shopping cart.
Deschamps said producers have been working with stores to resolve the price discrepancy and that prices will drop in the coming weeks as more Quebec strawberries become available.
“We've had great weather here and the quality and quantity of fruit on the market has been incredible,” he said.
Producers hope that these favorable conditions will continue, as the success of the Quebec strawberry season depends largely on the weather. Last year, strong storms and cold temperatures affected the production. This year they are hoping for sunny weather and some light rain.
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