The minimum piece-rates for farm workers who hand pick crops is increasing.
Based on last year’s annual inflation rate, the B.C. government is raising the minimum piece rate for hand-harvest crops by 2.6 per cent.
The changes will apply to 15 agricultural crops that need to be hand-harvested. These include: peaches, apricots, brussels sprouts, daffodils, mushrooms, apples, beans, blueberries, cherries, grapes, pears, peas, prune plums, raspberries and strawberries.
Rates for each crop vary, but at a glance, the most valuable crops to pick are apricots with a minimum rate of $27.67 per half-bin or prune plums or pears, which both have a minimum rate of $27.08 per half-bin according to last year’s rates.
The province has not released the new rates for specific crops, but last year’s rates were
Apples: $24.05 a bin (27.1 ft3 / 0.767 m3)
Apricots: $27.67 a 1/2 bin (13.7 ft3 / 0.388 m3)
Beans: $0.329 a pound / $0.726 a kg
Blueberries: $0.558 a pound / $1.230 a kg
Brussels sprouts: $0.230 a pound / $0.506 a kg
Cherries: $0.317 a pound / $0.698 a kg
Grapes: $25.56 a 1/2 bin (13.7 ft3 / 0.388 m3)
Mushrooms: $0.332 a pound / $0.731 a kg
Peaches: $25.56 a 1/2 bin (12.6 ft3 / 0.357 m3)
Pears: $27.08 a bin (27.1 ft3 / 0.767 m3)
Peas: $0.411 a pound / $0.907 a kg
Prune plums: $27.08 a 1/2 bin (13.7 ft3 / 0.388 m3)
Raspberries: $0.502 a pound / $1.107 a kg
Strawberries: $0.484 a pound / $1.067 a kg
Daffodils*: $0.193 a bunch (10 stems)
The new rates will come into effect on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and statistics from Agriculture Canada suggest it could affect around 3,000 fruit farms in B.C., the province which holds the most individual fruit farms in the country.
Minimum rates for hand-picked crops have increased significantly twice in recent years; by 11.5 per cent in January 2019 and by 6.9 per cent in December 2024.
The increase also aligns with the province’s increase to its minimum wage, which increased by 2.6 per cent back in June.