Drought Doesn’t Stop Export Of California Strawberries To Canada
July 21, 2015 California’s No. 1 export to Canada, strawberries, consumes quite a bit of water during a time of extreme drought, according to The Toronto Star.
In fact, California produces 2.8 billion pounds of strawberries, according to the California department of food and agriculture, and it takes more than 12 gallons to grow one pound of strawberries, Michael Cahn, an irrigation and water resources specialist at the University of California, told The Star.
Despite the drought, strawberries continue to be shipped to Canada by the truckload. Strawberries are California’s fifth largest crop and last year California shipped strawberries valued at $300 million north of the border.
“If you want strawberries all the time, you have to accept the fact that we can’t grow strawberries year-round in Canada,” John Cranfield, an economist who specializes in agriculture at the University of Guelph, told The Star.
According to the article, Carolyn O’Donnell, communications director for the California Strawberry Commission, said strawberry crops have fared better in the Golden State during the drought than other types of produce because the berries are mainly grown along the temperate coast.
“A lot of the stories that you hear (about the drought) … that doesn’t really affect the strawberry crops,” she said.
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