As an advocate for local agriculture on the Big Island, I often
monitor
produce imports at our local groceries and restaurants. I'm also privy
to
many of the confidential wholesale price lists given to the stores and
know
the difference in what they pay and what they sell both local and
imported
produce for. I know what the major produce company's import that
competes
directly with what we grow in the state. As a committee chair of the
American Culinary Federation Kona Kohala Chef's de Cuisine and former
chef,
I'm familiar with questionable practices of some of the produce
companies.
That said there are issues that Hawaii's residents need to be aware
of.

Carbon footprint not withstanding, companies continue to import large
quantities of avocados, romaine lettuce, cabbage, bananas, mangos,
tomatoes,
bell peppers and tons of other produce that competes directly with
local
growers. Reclaiming our markets from imports won't happen overnight
but
that¹s not the intent of this missive. As a consumer and former chef,
I want
to know what I'm buying and where it's from. Stores here routinely mix
produce. If I want a green bell pepper, I don't know if its from
Mexico or
Waimea. I don't know if my taro is from China or Hawaii, my garlic
from
Argentina, China or California. Bananas with the stickers taken off
evidently from Ecuador mixed with our local bananas. The boxes I see
in the
back of grocery stores marked USDA organic with off-color runny ink
tells me
that things are not what they seem. It's imperative that the
legislature
mandate point of origin requirements for fresh produce, and that, they
are
enforced. Consumers have the right to know. The Hawaii Buy Fresh Buy
Local
campaign is a great start but it's not enough when produced is mixed
together in store displays. The state also needs to levy an
inspection fee,
perhaps 5 cents a pound, on imported competitive produce. This would
literally bring in millions of dollars per year that could be used
both for
inspectors salaries' and better marketing of locally grown produce.

The pricing of local produce at a stores retail level depends on the
individual store. Often stores do not have an incentive to sell local
produce as they simply make more money on imports because of an
irrational
perceived difference in quality. From a recent wholesale pricelist,
imported
avocados are sold by a large Hawaii wholesaler for $2.15 a pound and
sold at
a local market for $3.99 a pound. Locally grown avocados are sold at
$1.20 a
pound and sell for $1.49 at the same store. Farmers still get from 60
to 80
cents a pound, which does not cover their cost of production. Imported
romaine lettuce sells for $1.15 a pound and locally grown sells at .90
cents. The grocery stores need to accurately display what's locally
grown
and what's imported so that consumers have a choice. This in itself
would
serve to increase sales of locally grown produce. The produce
wholesale
companies need to pay local growers fairly and based on an accurate
cost of
production. They need to do much more in the promotion of locally
grown
produce and are generally considered the weak link in promotion of
sustainable agriculture in Hawaii.

Hawaii's well-known chefs will, in confidence, tell horror stores of
dealing
with these companies and the strong-arm practices they use. Often told
they
can only have, for example, french beans, if they take a case of
Mexican
avocados with it. I'm told this is illegal yet I hear the same story
at
least once a month at chefs meetings on the Big Island or Oahu. The
large
produce wholesalers also threaten growers that they will not
distribute
their crops on some islands unless they can distribute on all islands,
leaving the growers in a quandary as to what they can do. This action
puts
the squeeze on small wholesalers who market only locally grown produce
and
are active parts of our small agriculture community.

It's clear that these large produce companies need to be called on the
carpet and held accountable for their practices and their importation
that
competes directly with growers across the state.

The state is missing an opportunity by not charging inspection fees
for
imported produce.
Using the 2005 federal numbers from the Hawaii Agriculture Statistics
Service, inspection Fees on Imports @ 5¢ per lb. would yield:
Avocados: 2,130,000 lbs x 5¢ = $106,500.
Bananas: 13,017,000 lbs x 5¢ = $650,850.
Lemons: 4,196,000 lbs x 5¢ = $209,800.
Grapefruit: 1,488,000 lbs x 5¢ = $74,400.
Tangerines: 1,254,000 lbs x 5¢ = $62,700.
Limes: 1,678,000 lbs x 5¢ = $83,900.
$1,188,150.00
This does not include imported Ginger, Taro, Papaya, Oranges, Coffee
and
168,686,000 lbs of competitive vegetables.

This would also serve to equalize some of the pricing differences
between
local and imported produce.

Thanks to efforts by UH CTAHR, the state's Seal of Quality program,
Buy
Fresh Buy Local Program, American Culinary Federation, Hawaii Farm
Bureau,
Slowfood Hawaii and many of the agriculture groups, we have made
headway in
reclaiming our markets from the imports, increased our quality and
quantity
of locally grown fruits and vegetables and gained a foothold. Still,
we have
a long way to go in order to become truly sustainable and self-
sufficient.

Ken Love
President, Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers -West Hawaii
Kona Kohala Chefs de Cuisine - Agriculture Committee Chair
Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative