Cranberry growers feel the effects of trade tariffs

By Geoff Spillane

Posted Nov 27, 2019

WASHINGTON — The cranberry gets a lot of attention during Thanksgiving week, but this year it is generating discussion that goes beyond the dinner table.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and U.S. Reps. William Keating and Joseph Kennedy III went to bat this week for local cranberry growers affected by China trade tariffs.

“We write to urge you to explore new markets for United States cranberry farmers to compensate for the impact of China’s forty percent tariff on cranberries,” the Democratic lawmakers said in a Nov. 25 letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

They told Lighthizer that the nation’s cranberry industry has lost nearly $43 million this year due to the Chinese tariff, and buyers there are opting to purchase more affordable alternatives to the U.S. crop, placing economic pressure on American farmers.

“Throughout the past decade, the price of cranberries has dropped approximately more than 50 percent due to overproduction,” the letter said. “To increase sales, the industry sought out international markets. By 2018, China became the largest consumer of cranberries, purchasing approximately $55 million of dried cranberries. In a five-year span, the U.S. cranberry industry was able to increase its sale of dried cranberries by more than 1,000 percent.”

The lawmakers have requested a response from Lighthizer by Dec. 9 regarding possible solutions and resources to reduce losses to the cranberry industry.

Leo Cakounes, a former Barnstable County commissioner and owner of Cape Farm Supply & Cranberry Company in Harwich, is an independent grower of 20 acres of organic cranberries.

“I initially want to thank the Senators and Congressmen for drawing attention to Massachusetts’ heritage crop. However, I personally don’t think the tariff is the largest problem facing the cranberry industry in the state,” he said.

Cakounes contends there already was more supply than demand, even accounting for the China market, and there are 7 million barrels of frozen cranberries in storage in the U.S. He says the state should be more amenable to allowing cranberry growers who want to remain in agriculture to transition to another crop if they choose.

State regulations are specific to growing cranberries in a wetland, and it’s a gray area whether farmers are allowed to change, according to Cakounes.

Cakounes also said prices for cranberries have been stagnant for generations. He cited an 1876 book titled “Cranberry Culture” that features a letter from A.D. Makepeace of Cape Cod, who said he received $10 per 100-pound barrel for his cranberries in 1868.

That price has pretty much stayed the same in the 150 years since, Cakounes said.

“It costs 10 times more to produce (cranberries) due to government regulations, but they still pay us the same price for the crop,” he said.

In November 2018, the state began offering stipends to cranberry growers to build solar panels over their bogs.