Despite farmers’ protests, a BC Tree Fruits executive says it would be “impractical, if not impossible” to resume operations for the 2024 harvest season.

Douglas Pankiw, the co-op’s interim CEO and chief financial officer, made the statements this week in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia as part of BC Tree Fruits’ bankruptcy proceedings.

“I have learned that some of the growers are inquiring through the media or otherwise about whether BCTFC could resume operations for the 2024 apple harvest. Such operations are impractical, if not impossible,” the affidavit states.

The fate of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative now lies in the hands of the courts. A brief hearing was held on Friday, and a second, full-day hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Pankiw’s affidavit says BC Tree Fruits simply does not have the money to restart, which would cost $1.5 million and continue to cost $1.2 million each month of apple harvesting. The company has been operating at a loss for years, and given the estimated harvest, those losses are expected to continue to grow.

In addition, the cooperative is no longer able to secure stable sales and commitments from customers, and many of its employees have now left the company and found other jobs.

In addition to the financial and logistical challenges, there are also technical challenges, according to Pankiw.

Cold rooms and controlled atmospheres (CA) for fruit storage use either ammonia or brine cooling systems, which must be tightly regulated. These rooms are sealed environments where oxygen levels are reduced to as little as one percent, while other gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen are added, depending on the apple variety.

“It takes days to achieve the atmosphere in the CA rooms, and more days to restore a normal atmosphere in the CA rooms that allows access to the rooms without breathing apparatus,” says Pankiw.

Protests continue

Despite the bleak outlook, apple growers say they are not giving up.

Jennifer Deol and her husband run There and Back Again Farms.

“We can’t reach anyone from management (BCTF) and their legal team isn’t really communicating with us, but we are fighting back through various legal channels to get transparency on how this decision was made.”

“We fight back, we talk to the media, we bring the story to the public and we protest weekly.”

Deol believes that the recent demonstrations along Harvey Avenue are helpful: “The public is aware of what is happening and is joining and supporting our cause.”

Deol says there are still about 200 farmers who have no space to store or sell their apples. Other farmers say if BC Tree Fruits cannot be saved, they should be allowed to take their land out of the Agriculture Land Reserve and cultivate it.

According to court documents, BC Tree Fruits owes $53,236,756.41 to secured creditors, including $50,825,051.81 to Canadian Imperial Banking Corporation.

The list of all unsecured creditors includes farmers and totals $12,117,315.02.

Castanet has learned that several parties are interested in purchasing parts of BCTF, but it remains unclear whether there are any interested parties willing to purchase the entire operation.

A sale process will be presented to a judge for approval on Monday. Bids for the entire block of BCTF assets could be accepted until September 27. The last date for submitting bids for individual assets is October 18. The entire sale process is expected to be completed by November 30.