Cooperative Packinghouses Amalgamate

After over 50 years of consolidations and mergers in the tree-fruit packinghouse industry in the Okanagan, there is now only one co-operative packinghouse.

The final 4 packing houses have now turned into one - The Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative.

Glen Lucas, the General Manager of the BC Fruit Growers' Association says the amalgamation means the local tree-fruit industry is going to be more competitive.

Lucas says this will not only make Okanagan tree fruit more competitive in world markets, it will provide better quality fruit for the consumer.

The Okanagan Tree fruit Cooperative will service almost 12,000 acres of orchard land, from Osoyoos to Salmon Arm, and from Keremeos to Creston.

Charmaine de Silva - Astral Media Radio News (Kelowna)