The Canada-Newfoundland Agreement for the Economic Development Component of the Canadian Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring Initiative (EDC) is investing $780,000 to support the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods work to establish a competitive cranberry industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Two of the existing sites will be expanded by three acres each, for the production of cultured vines, which will create further expansion of the industry. It is tentatively scheduled to be developed at the two present sites of Terra Nova and Deadman’s Bay. In addition, two new five-acre sites are tentatively scheduled to be developed in the Stephenville Crossing area of the west coast and the other at Grant’s Pit just east of Gambo. Each site will provide an estimated 120 weeks of employment per year.

A viable, sustainable cranberry industry developed in this province has great potential to create and enhance many businesses, such as site construction, pre-fabrication of bulk heads and piping for water control, machinery and equipment transportation and of course the berries themselves which will create many value-added opportunities in the processing of juices and jellies and other products.

The cranberry industry in North America has shown steady growth since 1994 when its value was estimated at $1.1 billion. In the United States alone, cranberry production increased by 20 per cent between 1996 and 1998 to meet the steady increase in demand. Throughout Canada, farmers are experimenting with cranberries in an effort to take advantage of a large, and still growing, market. An abundance of available land, peat, sand, clean water and a knowledgeable work force here in Newfoundland, positions us to farm and process cranberries with considerable competitive advantage.

Since 1996 the provincial Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods has been researching the viability of cranberry farming at four test sites: Deadman’s Bay, Stephenville, Frenchman’s Cove and Terra Nova. Newfoundland’s cranberry vines are being grown from tissue-cultured plants. This will allow farmers to start with locally matured plant stock, rather than importing plants which may carry diseases and pests; this is the first time this approach has been used in Canada on such a large scale. To further protect the integrity of the local stock, it is now illegal to import vines from outside the province, or to export locally grown vines. Each new vine can produce fruit for 50 to 100 years.

The development of the sites will be a cooperative effort, with private operators contributing capital investment, and assuming the costs for post-construction planting.

At the end of the start-up period, private operators will assume full responsibility for the sites.
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