With no local supply, B.C. farm markets forced to import stone fruit from the U.S.

Customers warned about mislabelled fruit There are no peaches, nectarines or peaches from B.C.'s Okanagan this year – forcing retailers to look south of the border.

In the 14 years she’s operated Lepp Farm Market in Abbotsford, B.C., Charlotte Lepp has never imported peaches in July.

But she’s had to this year, after her family’s Okanagan orchards were hit by a January cold snap that killed the summer’s stone fruit crop.

“Apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums,” said Lepp. “There is literally nothing on the trees. The trees are leafy and green, and zero fruit.”

That forced her to source stone fruit from the United States. The market is now carrying peaches from Georgia, nectarines from California, and apricots from Washington state. And Lepp has to charge more to make up for higher expenses.

“You can imagine if we are transporting peaches from Georgia rather than my husband driving up to Osoyoos, it is very expensive. And then there is the import duties and all the paperwork that accompany it,” Lepp said.

But importing is the only way the farm market can offer stone fruit this summer.

“Some customers are saying, well, I’m not going to buy Georgia peaches because I want to support the local farmers. But what people need to know is you are supporting local farmers if you come and help us keep some income going, because obviously we don’t have any peaches, nectarines or apricots to sell you,” Lepp said.

Sukhdeep Brar with the B.C. Fruit Growers Association wants consumers to know if they find a market selling B.C. stone fruit, its being intentionally mislabeled to try to make advantage of British Columbians’ loyalty to local farmers.

“If someone is saying it’s a B.C. peach, nectarine, apricot, it’s not from B.C. It’s from somewhere else,” said Brar. “If they are mislabelled, that’s when it gets upsetting and when it gets frustrating – when it’s called a 'B.C. peach,' which we know we don’t have any of them here … really it’s from California or Georgia.”

One Okanagan stone fruit did survive the deed freeze. Lepp Farm cherries are now available, and Charlotte hopes the others will come back.

“So right now, our trees look good, fingers crossed,” she said. “We won’t know until next year, until the trees bloom, what the damage has been and how long-term it is. We are hoping it was just a one-time thing this season, and next year we will be back up to full production.”