The California Fresh Fruit Association has landed on the top issues it plans to address in 2022.
For the Association’s Top Issues Survey for 2022, CFFA members were surveyed to rank their top issues, a total of 10, which included water supply available and curtailment, and increasing wage costs, among others.
“The CFFA membership has again provided staff a strong assessment of the issues that the industry will grapple with during the 2022 season,” said President Ian LeMay in a news release. “As we saw in 2021, the California fresh fruit industry continues to be impacted by water supply availability, increasing costs of production and the pressure of operating in a state with a heavy regulatory environment. Industry members remain committed to producing healthy and high-quality fresh produce for consumers, both within the U.S. and globally. But make no mistake, these pressures are real and are having significant impacts on the functionality of the businesses we represent. With the challenges fully acknowledged, CFFA will continue to act as the industry’s unified voice on these issues, and many more, in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C.”
In full, the issues listed in the Top Issues Survey are:
- Water supply availability and curtailment;
- Increasing wage costs (base/minimum wages/overtime thresholds;
- Groundwater management requirements;
- Federal immigration policies addressing current and future labor forces;
- Health care costs (policy costs/paid sick leave);
- Labor regulatory compliance;
- Rising fuel and energy costs;
- New taxes (commercial and corporate);
- Workers’ compensation costs; and
- Federal and state food safety compliance requirements.
As the fresh fruit industry continues to evolve, so, too, will the CFFA’s efforts to continue to best meet the needs of membership, the CFFA said in the release, also noting that issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic would continue to have an influence over its advocacy efforts throughout 2022.
The CFFA, a voluntary public policy association, represents growers, packers and shippers of California table grape, blueberry, kiwi, pomegranate and deciduous tree fruit communities.
