While the raspberries grown in Washington state are destined for processing, there has been a significant impact of Mexican imports on this industry, says Gavin Willis, executive director of the grower-led Washington Red Raspberry Commission, which represents growers and processors of about 90% of the country’s frozen raspberry supply.
Willis says, much like other industries that have spoken up about the damage of low-priced imports, growers have been facing mounting pressure for almost a decade.
“We were coming off of the 2024 harvest year, which wasn’t a great one,” Willis says. “And so our growers were feeling those impacts and pressures, especially strongly. And we’re a relatively small industry, almost like 99.8% of Washington-grown raspberries are for the frozen market. We’re growing different varieties than for the fresh market. Harvest practices are different, but since we’re such a small industry, we don’t have some of the same financial resources to pursue an anti-dumping case, for example, or do some of the more aggressive lobbying in dealing with these issues.”
Waste Stream Turned Revenue Stream
Willis says that while his state’s growers cultivate different varieties that are better suited for the frozen processing market, Mexican growers have used a different approach, selling fresh-market varieties that are unsuitable for fresh consumption to U.S. puree processors at a lower price that makes it difficult for U.S. growers to compete. Willis says these varieties have different color and lower Brix or sugars.
“What we’re seeing is that food processing companies are finding ways to say, instead of taking a premium Washington raspberry puree, you can take a puree that’s a byproduct of the Mexican fresh market, add in a little bit of sugar and a little bit of beet juice, mix it in with some other ingredients, and they’re betting on the fact that the consumer isn’t going to be able to tell the difference side by side,” he says. “You absolutely can, but once you put it in the consumer packaged good, for example, and it’s on the grocery store shelf, it can be tough for consumers to discern those types of differences.”
Willis says the pressure growers face in Washington from imports is a byproduct of the fresh raspberry industry in Mexico.
“It’s not like we’re trying to push other growers in other areas out of business. In the case of these growers, they’re making their profit margins on their fresh produce sales,” he says.
Willis notes that historically growers would leave the nonmarketable fresh fruit in the field or on the ground to be composted. He says what has likely brought part of this pressure on is that Mexican growers now face pest pressure from spotted wing drosophila, and instead of leaving fruit that is unsuitable for the fresh market to rot in the field, growers have to eliminate all fruit, as fresh fruit could attract females that could lay eggs in the culled fruit and increase pest pressure.
“They have to get that fruit out of the field,” he says. “Once it’s out of the field, they’re like, ‘Hey we need to do something with it. Do we pay a couple cents a pound to send it to the dump or does someone else pay us a couple of cents a pound and they take it off our hands?’”
And he says he also understands why a processor might opt for Mexican-grown puree.
“It’s tough to really blame a food processing company when they’re being offered somewhat similar product, even if it’s not the same, at a 40% discount,” he says. “And that’s not something that our growers can compete with.”
The USMCA Lifeline
Willis says the industry didn’t really face the pressures and challenges it does now, and growers didn’t foresee the impact imports would have in the future.
“As a small industry, the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] review provides an opportunity for our voice to be heard where in other ways might not be,” he says.
Willis says the federal level has been receptive to the concerns brought forth by the Washington Red Raspberry Commission. He says a challenge is that this is a concern for dumping impacting the domestic market, and there’s also many different specialty crop commodities facing different challenges as USMCA is under review.
“There’s support for what we’re trying to do, but we’re in a really unique position, and we’re a small industry,” he says. “So, the potential actions that could provide benefits to our growers may not have support from other portions of the specialty crop sector.”
Willis says he and his team will continue to advocate for the industry, noting that the growers he represents are open to any solution.
“We recognize that there’s a larger framework that we’re working within as well, and so we’re willing to hear suggestions from other stakeholders on potential solutions and fixes for this issue,” he says.
He says it’s important to look at this as a food security issue, keeping production in the U.S.
“Generally across specialty crop industries, there’s a recognition that there’s a lot of challenges that specialty crop growers are facing, but it is important from a food security perspective that we continue to grow those products in the U.S.,” he says.
How to Help
Willis says an important point of contention, too, is that Washington raspberry growers are not a direct competitor of Mexican raspberry growers.
“We’re not competing directly against them, and we’re not trying to take away any of their profits,” he says. “This is really a waste stream for them that’s really hurting our growers.”
For processors looking to help, Willis says an easy fix is to purchase U.S.-grown produce and for consumers to look for “Product of the U.S.A.” on the label.
“U.S.-grown product is, we believe, a superior product to what you can get elsewhere, and you’re supporting American businesses when you buy U.S.-grown,” he says.
