Apple growers vote on marketing commission

BC apple growers will soon vote whether or not to establish an apple marketing commission, following a public consultation this spring led by Inner Harbour Consulting Inc.

“A recent survey of apple producers, conducted from March 15 to April 4, 2025, indicated support for such a commission,” a May 28 memo to growers from Inner Harbour Consulting CEO Derek Sturko says.

A total of 107 apple producers representing more than 2,800 acres responded. (Statistics Canada figures indicate that BC had 8,549 acres devoted to apples last year.) Participating growers ranged in size from 400 acres to less than one acre.

Seventy of 103 respondents felt that one or more of the commission’s possible powers would benefit them.

Of the possible powers for the commission, those with the most support were oversight of sales and pricing information, establishing minimum pricing, applying for government grants and establishing quality standards.

More than two-thirds of growers (68%) wanted on-farm sales exempt from regulation, while 45% wanted peddlars, intermediaries who collect fruit and wholesale it to independent retailers, to remain outside the commission’s jurisdiction.

Victoria-based Elevate Consulting will oversee the voting process and report the results “to ensure impartial administration,” according to the May 28 memo.

Elevate Consulting has yet to set a date for the vote, but it will likely take place this month.

While the vote is non-binding, it will serve as a recommendation to the province, which in turn will need to draft a regulation enabling the commission under the Natural Products Marketing (BC) Act.

“A vote will provide an indication of whether BC apple producers are interested in a commission to regulate and market BC apples,” Sturko says.

Inner Harbour Consulting has led consultations on the proposed commission since last fall, when Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC hired Sturko to facilitate the process.

Sturko was a key player in development of the province’s stabilization plan for the orchard industry and chaired the project management committee industry set up to investigate orderly marketing.

Discussions regarding an apple marketing commission began in 2021, with the idea of it being a potential successor to the New Tree Fruit Varieties Development Council, which shut down last year.