Crops in Crisis: California Avocados

Growers in California, who produce 90 percent of the US crop, have
already suffered due to imports from Chile and limited deliveries from Mexico.

Imports from Mexico are expected to triple when the floodgates open completely next year. Facing even more competition, small operators , who comprise 98 percent of California‚ growers, may become a thing of the past.

Ben Drake has been growing avocados in Temecula since 1973. He’s up against a double-whammy: fuel and other production costs have increased, while the price his crops fetch has fallen. Some California farmers have seen a 30 percent drop in profits.

“Well just have to wait and see how low the price will drop,” says Drake, who manages farms in San Diego and Riverside counties, the No. 1 and 4 top-producing counties in California. “Depending on how low the price gets, this will determine whether well be able to stay in business.”

As usual, when small farmers lose out from new trade rules, large companies reap the benefits. Calavo Growers, the world‚ largest avocado producer, enjoyed record sales of more than a quarter-billion dollars in 2004, due in part to expanded harvesting and processing in Mexico. The company closed its Santa Paula, California, guacamole plant in 2003 and moved the operation to Mexico, putting 50 people out of work, some of whom had worked there for more than 20 years.