After more than 16 years
of Latin American countries enjoying a leg up on them, California's
cut flower growers say they have had enough.
While sitting quietly on the sidelines, they have seen their
market share plummet as foreign growers flourished through
duty-free access to the United States.
Motivated by concerns that a temporary trade pact could
become permanent, growers have decided to speak up.
Investors have been wary about tying up their money in overseas
agricultural businesses that could be hurt if the trade
agreement expires. If that potential problem is alleviated,
more investors might be attracted to foreign operations
— boosting competition for domestic growers.
"What's fair and what's right is a big question mark,"
said Michael A. Mellano of the Los Angeles-based grower
Mellano & Co. "Should these producers be given
preferential treatment? If so, for those of us who are fighting
to remain in business, how do we remain whole?"
"We're at a crossroads," said Kasey Cronquist,
executive director and ambassador for the California Cut
Flower Commission.
It's time, he said, to look back at the last 16 years, see
who is still left in the industry and how to help them remain.
In Ventura County, cut flowers were the eighth leading crop
with annual revenue of $52.5 million in 2006, according
to the latest available report from the Agricultural Commissioner's
office.
But according to the California Cut Flower Commission, foreign
nations — primarily Colombia — now supply 75
to 80 percent of cut flowers sold in the United States.
They have replaced what California growers were providing
more than a decade ago.
In December 1991, President George H.W. Bush's administration
made a deal with the Andean nations of Bolivia, Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru, offering them duty-free access to the
U.S. market in exchange for assistance combating drug trafficking.
It was meant to be an incentive for Andean farmers to pursue
alternatives to the drug trade.
For the most part, domestic cut flower growers remained
out of the discussion, believing there were larger geopolitical
interests at stake.
"The industry didn't come out angrily opposed because
we were fighting a war on drugs," Cronquist said. "That
was the greater issue."
Once Colombia had its access to the U.S., domestic cut flower
growers were at a disadvantage — saddled with higher
costs for land, labor and complying with stringent regulations.
"But we are survivors," said Anthony Vollering,
part-owner of Sunshine Floral, which has operations in Carpinteria
and Oxnard. "You need to adjust, be efficient, more
productive, change your crops."
To get by, Sunshine Floral started growing Gerber daisies,
the genus of which is Gerbera, a flower that's more difficult
for the Colombians to pack and transport.
Other growers followed suit.
Since the trade arrangement went into effect, Cronquist
said, the California cut-flower industry has transformed
itself, producing "a boutiquey-type product, moving
to things that are a little more expensive."
They pulled out their roses, carnations and chrysanthemums,
replacing them with flowers like anthirriums and Gerberas.
"You find your niches where you can do better with
other flowers and that's how you survive," Vollering
said.
U.S. growers seemed to have weathered the storm, according
to congressional research released a decade after the Andean
accord.
The research concluded that domestic growers diversified
their products and were handling the trade preferences well.
"That's the government's take on things," Mellano
said. "Finding profitable crops to grow these days
is not as easy as pulling a rabbit out of a hat."
Mellano admitted, however, that the industry has not stood
up for itself.
Our voice is somewhat absent in the congressional record
on the topic," he said.
While some growers successfully adjusted, Cronquist said
something new is happening.
"The Colombians are getting a lot more sophisticated
with everything they grow," he said. "They're
getting better at growing the ones we are growing today,
so at some point we may run out of things to grow."
The Gerbera daisy that saved Sunshine Floral, for example,
is one flower he said they're learning to deliver.
"You can diversify an industry to death but there are
only so many varieties our growers can move on to,"
Cronquist said.
The original trade deal with the Andean nations was supposed
to last for just 10 years. But it was renewed in 2002, as
well as several times since then, most recently in February.
It's set to expire at the end of this year.
President George W. Bush, following up on what his father
implemented, has proposed a new law that would make the
trade deal permanent — the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
The proposed legislation would affect more than just the
cut flower industry. Bush briefed the press April 7, saying
the agreement is an important support measure for Colombia,
which "faces a hostile and anti-American regime in
Venezuela."
"Colombia is one of our strongest allies in the Western
Hemisphere," Bush said.
He added that the agreement would eliminate tariffs on certain
American exports of industrial and consumer goods, leveling
that playing field.
That doesn't soothe concerns of American cut flower growers,
who are worried a permanent pact would increase competition.
California growers are especially interested because they
account for 80 percent of domestic cut flower production
for the limited market share retained by American companies.
The California Cut Flower Commission is speaking out against
the new law, partly by directing its executive director,
Cronquist, to go to Washington, D.C., and lobby Congress.
Cronquist said he hopes lawmakers will "look back at
what's happened and determine for themselves whether these
growers warrant some adjustments for the losses they've
endured for the last 16 years."
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, was among the House members
Cronquist spoke with in Washington, D.C.
Capps released a statement stating that there "is no
question that our trade policies with Colombia have seriously
hurt flower growers in California and a permanent agreement
would exacerbate this problem."
The House this month tabled the permanent free-trade deal
with Colombia, delaying the vote until after the November
election.
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