Crops in Crisis: California Olives

by Webeditor — last modified 2007-08-20 13:03 Dec 26, 2006 helenej - stock.xchng

The sliced black olives delivered to your door on pizza have likely made the long trip across the Atlantic from Spain or Morocco. And this has California growers worried.

For the past eight years, olive grower Rod Burkett of Strathmore, California has lost money selling his fruit. Cheaper imported olives have replaced California olives on sandwiches, pizzas and in salads at restaurants across the United States. In 2003, Subway Restaurants decided to completely stop purchasing California olives for its sandwiches.¹

About 40 percent of the olives consumed in the United States are now imported. With restaurants purchasing imported olives, U.S. canners have had a harder selling their goods. As a result, from 2000 to 2003, the price paid to olive growers fell by almost 40 percent.²

“The problem is you can lower all your costs as much as you can, but you’re still not making any black olives money, and there’s not a whole lot of places to go,” Burkett explained. Many growers have cut down their olive trees decreasing the acreage of olive production by 20 percent.

In 2004, Adin Hester, president of the Olive Growers Council applied for Trade Adjustment Assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of California olive growers. Unfortunately, however, growers were only granted $27 per ton, an amount so small that only 20 percent of growers even bothered applying for the money.

“Our growers needed $50-100 per ton just to come back even to cover their production. A lot of growers threw up their hands and said it’s not worth my while to go through that whole exercise for $27 per ton,” Hester explained.

In the meantime, imports of olives continue to increase, leaving both Hester and Burkett concerned about the future for California growers.

“The olive industry is either gonna be saved or gone in the next two or three years,” Burkett said. “How many times have you gone into a restaurant and asked, ‘Hey, is that a California olive?’ That’s what it’s gonna take to get people to buy [olives from California].”

¹ Doyle, Michael. “California olive growers ask USDA for help.” Fresno Bee, California, December 4 2003.
² Hester, Adin. Olive Growers Council of California Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance for California Growers, December 28 2004.

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Take Action Expel the hormones from school milk! Explore Further Food Safety Factory Farms Agricultural Policy U.S. Farm Bill Sustainable Agriculture Biofuels Crops in Crisis Irradiation School Milk Consumer Labels Reports Newsletters The Global Grocer Press In The News Ohio Elections Commission Pursues Frivolous Case Against Consumer Group Issue 2 Passes: Agribusiness Rewrites Ohio's Constitution Private produce safety rules burden smaller-scale, diversified farms, threaten conservation, lack transparency, new report finds FDA Fakes a Passing Grade More >> See all headlines >> See all headlines >> Find Factory Farms in Your State Help Us Grow	Crops in Crisis: California Olives by Webeditor — last modified 2007-08-20 13:03 Dec 26, 2006 helenej - stock.xchng The sliced black olives delivered to your door on pizza have likely made the long trip across the Atlantic from Spain or Morocco. And this has California growers worried. For the past eight years, olive grower Rod Burkett of Strathmore, California has lost money selling his fruit. Cheaper imported olives have replaced California olives on sandwiches, pizzas and in salads at restaurants across the United States. In 2003, Subway Restaurants decided to completely stop purchasing California olives for its sandwiches.¹ About 40 percent of the olives consumed in the United States are now imported. With restaurants purchasing imported olives, U.S. canners have had a harder selling their goods. As a result, from 2000 to 2003, the price paid to olive growers fell by almost 40 percent.² “The problem is you can lower all your costs as much as you can, but you’re still not making any money, and there’s not a whole lot of places to go,” Burkett explained. Many growers have cut down their olive trees decreasing the acreage of olive production by 20 percent. In 2004, Adin Hester, president of the Olive Growers Council applied for Trade Adjustment Assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of California olive growers. Unfortunately, however, growers were only granted $27 per ton, an amount so small that only 20 percent of growers even bothered applying for the money. “Our growers needed $50-100 per ton just to come back even to cover their production. A lot of growers threw up their hands and said it’s not worth my while to go through that whole exercise for $27 per ton,” Hester explained. In the meantime, imports of olives continue to increase, leaving both Hester and Burkett concerned about the future for California growers. “The olive industry is either gonna be saved or gone in the next two or three years,” Burkett said. “How many times have you gone into a restaurant and asked, ‘Hey, is that a California olive?’ That’s what it’s gonna take to get people to buy [olives from California].” ¹ Doyle, Michael. “California olive growers ask USDA for help.” Fresno Bee, California, December 4 2003. ² Hester, Adin. Olive Growers Council of California Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance for California Growers, December 28 2004. Related content Crops in Crisis Fact Sheets The Bad Seeds: The Broken Promises of Agricultural Biotechnology The Bottom Line of Tracking Livestock: The Money Behind the National Animal Identification System Fuels and Emissions from Industrial Agriculture Cloned Animals on the Dinner Plate? Farm Bill 101 more... Reports Casino of Hunger: How Wall Street Speculators Fueled the Global Food Crisis — During 2008, rising food prices — accelerated by ... What’s Behind the Global Food Crisis? — The 2008 global food crisis is compromising the su ... Cargill: A Threat to Food and Farming — This report, Cargill: A Threat to Food and Farming ... The Farm Bill — Whether you buy food at a grocery store, a farmers ...