Today, one-third of the state's apricot crop remains unsold as growers prepare for this year's harvest which occurs between May and July. Some growers have partial orders contracted and some only have a promise of a contract. Ferriera said growers must make immediate economic decisions about the crop with no assurance of a market come harvest time. Farm Bureau member Dave Santos, of Lucich-Santos Farms in Patterson, is one apricot grower who has fruit orders contracted for this year. With all of the apricots unsold, a lot of people are trying to get into the fresh market.
Producers say the loss of the dried apricot industry is a direct result of Turkish imports.
This past summer and fall, the canning sector of the dried apricot industry faced a very similar threat from duty-free apricots coming out of South Africa. The duty on South African apricots is almost 30 percent. Imports are killing us. They can do it so much cheaper. A major blow to the industry happened in 2000, when the Tri Valley Growers' bankruptcy forced growers to leave 11,000 tons of apricots rotting in the fields.