Legal battle shakes up olive industry as acreage shrinks
timated at 55,000 tons this year, up from 23,000 tons in 2020, according to USDA. The Olive Growers Council of California projected 2021 production at 67,000 tons. Whi le Bel l -Car ter has moved to sourcing more table olives outside of California, Musco has been urging grow- ers to replace their old orchards with higher-density, modern-style plantings that allow for mechanical harvesting. Most of the state’s table olives are still picked by hand. The new approach em- ploys shaker technology similar towhat’s used inmost other tree crops.
Musco’s “1 million trees” initiative, in which the processor supplies growers with free nursery stock for planting, rep- resents 3,000 to 4,000 acres, said Dennis Burreson, the company’s vice president of field operations. His family grows table olives in Orland. He said Musco remains committed to buying from California growers and in mechanization, which can reduce har- vesting costs by 60%. Whereas the aver- age yield on older orchards ranges from
ByChing Lee As harvest of California table olives ramps up, growers say they remain at a critical juncture as they ponder the future of the business—andwhether to stay in it. Though table olive production this year is up over 2020, California acreage of the fruit continues to decline. Growers say they strugglewith rising picking costs and prices that fail to cover what it takes to produce the crop. The current state bearing acreage stands at 12,800, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This rep- resents a historic low. Acreage last year stood at 15,500, compared to 19,000 acres in 2016 and 36,000 in 2011. Now Bell-Carter Foods—one of two major table olive processors left in the state—is embroiled in a legal dispute with one of its partners and suppliers. That’s triggering concerns over how the fallout will affect the company’s remain- ing contract growers and stability of the entire table olive sector. TheWalnut Creek-basedcanner termi- nated most of its California grower con- tracts in 2019 after selling 20%of its share to the Spanisholive companyDcoop. The partnership allowed Bell-Carter to im- port less-expensive foreignolives into the U.S. for processing while avoiding tariffs. Dcoop and two other related compa- nies filed suit last month against Bell- Carter, claiming they were induced to purchase their stake for $15millionbased on intentional misrepresentations of the processor’s inventory value, projected earnings and financial position. The Spanish companies seek return of the purchase price, plus interest and other costs. In a company statement in response to questions from Ag Alert® , Bell-Carter said it has “not purchasedmuch” fromDcoop since last year and has been working to dissolve their relationship since then. “Dcoop has demonst rated to us during the course of our engagement that they are a company that is not aligned with our core values,” Bell- Carter said in the statement. It also said Dcoop has been unable to live up to its contractual promises. Bell-Carter, which describes itself as being the leading table olive producer in the U.S. and second largest in the world, said the suit is “filled with misinforma- tion and false accusations.” The company said it intends to “defend ourselves against their baseless claims.” It added, “These issues do not impact the day-to-day operations of Bell-Carter and it is business as usual here.” The canner said it continues to build its global supply chain, which includes buying olives from California growers. This strategy, Bell-Carter said, has pre- pared the processor for aharvest this year that’s expected to yield “an abundance of smaller-sizedoliveswitha shortage of the larger sizes.”
Bell-Carter and Musco Family Olive Co. in Tracy—the state’s other major ta- ble olive processor—have for years said the state’s shrinking table olive acreage and the alternate-bearing nature of olive trees leave them short of the supply they need, particularly during “off ” produc- tion years. California table olive production is es-
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September 15, 2021 Ag Alert 3
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