Posted on Feb 20, 2019
In Garlic Capital, Tariffs And Immigration Crackdown Have Mixed Impacts
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Gilroy, Calif., is known as the garlic capital of the world. And two Trump administration policies — one on trade, the other on immigration — are having a mixed impact on this agricultural community south of San Francisco.
It's about 50 degrees outside, but for a moment it looks like it's snowing. But the morning air is pungent and savory, and those flakes falling from the sky are garlic skin pieces, drifting away from the peeling facility.
Christopher Ranch in Gilroy is the largest garlic producer in the country.
Ken Christopher, executive vice president, says it didn't always look this busy. In the 1990s, he says, the industry was hit hard by cheap Chinese garlic imports.
"U.S. garlic was trading around $40 a box in the 1990s," he says. "Chinese garlic flooded the market at $10 a box, and it severely undercut a lot of U.S. growers."
Gilroy is known for its garlic, but only a few farms survived. Christopher Ranch was the biggest. Ken Christopher says about 6 percent of its garlic is bought from China; the rest is homegrown.
It's about 50 degrees outside, but for a moment it looks like it's snowing. But the morning air is pungent and savory, and those flakes falling from the sky are garlic skin pieces, drifting away from the peeling facility.
Christopher Ranch in Gilroy is the largest garlic producer in the country.
Ken Christopher, executive vice president, says it didn't always look this busy. In the 1990s, he says, the industry was hit hard by cheap Chinese garlic imports.
"U.S. garlic was trading around $40 a box in the 1990s," he says. "Chinese garlic flooded the market at $10 a box, and it severely undercut a lot of U.S. growers."
Gilroy is known for its garlic, but only a few farms survived. Christopher Ranch was the biggest. Ken Christopher says about 6 percent of its garlic is bought from China; the rest is homegrown.
In Garlic Capital, Tariffs And Immigration Crackdown Have Mixed Impacts
Posted from npr.org
Taxes
International Trade
China
Immigration
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 3
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"But like most American agriculture, immigrants are a big part of Gilroy's labor force. And the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented labor has hit many California farmers hard." It is ILLEGAL to employ ILLEGAL PEOPLE. President Trump is ENFORCING the LAW! Now it is impacting your ILLEGAL business practices and cutting into you profit margin.
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Really need to look at the big picture. Looking at a narrow or small part of the economy does not look at the big picture.
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
I think Soybean farmers are very happy. Depends on the sector of the business in a trade war.
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Different sectors of the economy are impacted differently. It is always like that will all policy changes.
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