For the first time since the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative went into receivership in late July, apples are once again arriving at one of its sites in Kelowna.
But it’s not the co-op operating the site. A private company is in the process of buying the Sexsmith Road storage facility.
“We just started finally receiving apples here yesterday so it’s been a busy site the last couple of days,” NOVEM CEO Colin Davison said. “We were able to get into the facility on an emergency lease the beginning of September, thankfully, while we close on the transaction to purchase the facility.”
NOVEM is in the business of storing pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products as well as agri-food.
“This facility will take about 25 million pounds of apples,” Davison said. “So far, we’re about 60 per cent. The facility is about 60 per cent taken up.”
While many former co-op members are thankful for the lifeline during apple harvest season, they’re disheartened that private companies are taking over their assets.
“Upset and angry that the government didn’t come to the table and there was never a comment made that an 88-year-old institution should be saved,” said Amarjit Singh Lalli, a longtime co-op member.
Lalli is still holding out hope the co-op can be saved but with a Nov. 30 deadline for the court-ordered sale of assets to close, the clock is ticking.
“Time is our biggest enemy right now, and so we’re doing everything in our power to partner with different organizations to put a proper proposal together, to revive the co-op, restructure it in a way that it will run more efficiently,” Lalli told Global News.
Whether it’s successful or not, farmers are calling for an investigation into what went wrong and how the co-op board allowed the organization to accrue a debt of nearly $60 million.
“We’d like to see the government, whichever one is formed, to come forward and do a thorough investigation as to how an 88-year-old institution went under, especially with two government reps sitting at the table watching this happen,” Lalli said.
As members continue their fight to save the co-op, NOVEM is looking ahead and already planning to build a second storage facility on the Sexsmith Road site.
It’s also interested in acquiring the longtime BC Tree Fruits brand.
“It’s recognized worldwide,” Davison said. “So we don’t want to see that go to waste. You know, we’d like to use the brand.”
Davison said NOVEM will be among any other potentially interested companies that will bid on acquiring the BC Tree Fruits brand when the time comes.
BC Tree Fruits Cooperative has assets across the Okanagan Valley, including a new, state-of-the-art $50-million sorting and packaging plant in Oliver.