VALLEY CENTER (KGTV) — Local avocado farmers are producing more fruit than ever, but market factors and competition are pushing them out of the business.
Enrico Ferro has been growing avocados on his farm in Valley Center for more than two decades. Right now, there are a lot of avocados to be picked — but Ferro says the economics are working against him.
"Right now, my grove has never looked better, and there's a big crop on the trees for next year, and yet people like me are going out of business all the time," Ferro said.
Ferro says part of the reason is imports flooding the market from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Chile.
"Now it doesn't matter what time of year it is, there's always imported fruit coming in, and we no longer have a shared market, and so we're subject to whatever the market is at that time," Ferro said.
He also says that water and labor costs are contributing to the losses he is experiencing. Avocados from Mexico currently enter the country tariff-free.
Ferro says despite doing everything right on the farm, he is now weighing difficult options.
"The farm itself is doing amazing. I've put 22 years into this. I finally got it to a point where it's, it's really producing well. The trees look amazing. The fruit looks amazing. I'm doing everything right. And yet, I'm thinking about how do I mitigate the current situation - do I cut down 80% of the trees?" Ferro said.
He hopes he can survive the pressures of the global market for a fruit that is growing in popularity.
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