Del Monte bankruptcy leaves California growers in $550M hole

"Nobody wins in a situation like this. We're all losing. Somebody might be hurting a little bit more than their neighbor, depending on the size and the scale of what you had. But it's devastating. And we still don't know what to expect."

"We were just getting into making some profits out of it, but, unfortunately, it's gonna have to be removed. Two thirds of the growers are going to be, basically, just left out to dry."

"What we have witnessed over the last seven months is the death of an extended family member. And we're all feeling the loss. We're all feeling it in different ways. But it's real."

Del Monte Foods' bankruptcy has devastated California's peach industry, which relied heavily on long-term contracts with the 135-year-old company. Growers lost $550 million in contracts, with many facing the difficult choice of removing peach trees. Alternative buyers offer only short-term deals for significantly smaller quantities—one processor offered contracts for just 24,000 tons compared to Del Monte's previous volume. Growers like Sarb Johl, who operated under a 20-year contract, report no viable alternatives exist. The California Canning Peach Association estimates two-thirds of growers will be unable to find replacement buyers, leaving the industry in crisis.

Read at California Post