These Imports Really Stink
Farmers in the garlic capital of Gilroy are raising a stink about tons of cheap Chinese garlic they say could crush the domestic industry under its pungent weight.
Garlic mogul Don Christopher says 35 million pounds of garlic are on ships headed to Los Angeles and New York. That is five times the amount shipped here from China last year and a sixth of what U.S. growers produce annually--90% of which comes from California.
America consumes between 96 million and 108 million pounds each year.
Farmers say the imported garlic sells at docks for about 28 cents per pound after a 1.7-cent-per-kilogram import tariff. That is half the price it takes for American growers to break even.
Christopher and other farmers are working with Gilroy Mayor Don Gage and U.S. Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose) to get tariffs raised or send the garlic back before it reaches American tables.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
