Productores de arándanos de Canadá en crisis

Según esta nota de Katie Mercer publicada hace 15 días, los productores canadienses sufrían problemas similares a los que sufrieron los productores latinoamericanos el año pasado. Primavera fría, atraso en la fruta, lluvias que llevan a mala polinización, etc. Muchos recordaran estos problemas al leer la nota.

Aqui la nota en la que vemos las similitudes en British Columbia que es la región mas productora después de Michigan

For many blueberry farmers, the damage is done.They're facing one of their worst seasons in years and no amount of sunshine is going to change that."This is the first time I can remember that the crop has been delayed this much," said grower Parm Bains of Westberry Farms in Abbotsford.

"We're going to lose our first two weeks. We'll never make up for those lost sales. It's not something we can tag on at the back end of the season."
Blueberry crops are two weeks behind schedule because of unseasonably cool, wet weather, and growers don't expect to harvest until July 15 at the earliest.

"You can't just add those two weeks on the end of September because Mother Nature wants to finish her cycle," said Bains. "With the lack of pollination as it is, if the sun doesn't come up soon, the berries aren't going to size up."

The April cold snap and a cool, wet May and June caused fewer buds to form, more to rot and prevented bees from pollinating - all leading to a smaller harvest.

"It looks like we might run into two real weeks of crunch, where both crops are coming in and it becomes a capacity issue," said Kahlon. "You can't prepare for two weeks of chaos. You just have to hope that everything works out."The Ministry of Agriculture puts B.C.'s berry crops at a total annual farmgate value of about $150 million.B.C. is the world's second-largest blueberry-growing region, behind Michigan.