BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is near the end of winding up its business storing, processing, packaging and marketing growers’ fruits and it looks like it will have about $17 million left after all bills are paid.

Now comes the challenge of how to share that money with the grower-owners of the cooperative.

Co-op Rule 125 states that both current and former members are entitled to a portion of the surplus funds based on the tonnage they shipped to the packing house in its last six years of operation, 2018-2023.

However, those six years saw a good number of the co-op’s top growers end their contracts and take their fruit to other packinghouses in the hope of receiving better returns for their fruit.

The pool average payment system at BCTF did not favour growers who delivered high quality fruit. By some estimates, total bins delivered in 2018 were around 170,000 and that number fell to 74,000 in 2023.

Court documents indicate that current co-op members would receive about 68 per cent of the surplus, while former members would receive 32 per cent.

Amarjit Lalli represents a group of approximately 38 growers who want to change that rule so that only remaining members will be entitled to the surplus funds.

On the other side, growers say several generations of their families contributed to the co-op’s success and only left because results became intolerably poor. 

Some have said the business was plagued by political infighting, reports Country Life in BC newspaper.