Apple commission vote underway

BC apples growers should know within two weeks whether or not a proposed apple marketing commission will move forward.

A vote on the proposal was announced in late May, and is set to conclude later this month.

“The vote closes at midnight on July 14, and unless there is an extension, the results should be available a week after that,” says Derek Sturko, hired by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC last fall to lead consultations on a commission and organize the vote. [Editor’s note: The deadline to vote has been extended to midnight, July 21,2025.]

A marketing commission was among the recommendations of the provincially backed Tree Fruit Industry Stabilization Project in 2021. The ballot question asks growers, “Do you support establishing a commission to regulate and market apples produced in BC for commercial sale?”

Farmgate sales would be exempt from regulation.

If growers vote in favour, the proposed commission would run for an initial five-year term. It would have the power to set and enforce apple grade standards, supporting fair returns based on grade.

A commission could require written contracts between packers and growers, license commercial sellers of BC apples and improve access to real-time sales and pricing information. It could also coordinate marketing and research funding on behalf of the sector.

“We wanted to explain that these are the possible powers of the commission,” Sturko says. “It is up to the growers themselves as to what will work best for them and they get to choose the final powers and structure through a newly formed board of the commission in accordance with provincial regulations.”

Growers would vote at the end of the pilot period on whether or not to continue the commission.

Approximately 750 people from all levels of the industry have been advised about the vote to “help ensure those that are eligible to vote are aware of the opportunity,” says Sturko.

“Not all of them are growers; some are just orchard owners,” he says. “We are trying to maximize everybody’s awareness and the opportunity to participate in the vote.”

Results of the vote will be shared with the minister, who would determine the next steps. The province would have the final say on establishing the commission under the Natural Products Marketing (BC) Act.

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham has expressed support for the proposal.

Story updated July 10, 2025, 330 pm.

 

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