Generic campaign remains a hot topic Bargaining as ...

9/19/1995 12:00:00 AM

By Bureau

Generic campaign remains a hot topic Bargaining association says growers stillwant cost-effective promotion.

By Tom Burfield

Western Correspondent

FRESNO, Calif. -- The California raisin industry seems to have survived itsfirst year without a state marketing order since 1949 virtually unscathed,some industry observers say.

But many industry members have not given up on the idea of forming a newversion of the defunct California Raisin Advisory Board.

``Growers are adamant about re-establishing a marketing order, which willcontinue to maintain the awareness of their raisins,'' said Vaughn Koligian,general manager of the Raisin Bargaining Association, Fresno.

``The dancing raisin characters and the California raisin logo belong in frontof the consumer, and the (association) is committed to trying to bring thisindustry together to satisfy that desire.''

The Raisin Bargaining Association, which negotiates field prices for raisins,represents about 2,000 growers, about 40 percent of the industry.

``The association's growers believe that it is in the industry's bestinterests to pursue an effective and accountable generic advertising program,because we feel it is the industry's responsibility to promote the categoryand the branded packers' responsibilities to promote their brand,'' Koligiansaid.

The advisory board disbanded July 31, 1994, after members failed to reachagreement on a number of issues, most notably packer assessments for genericadvertising.

Barry Kriebel, president of Sun-Maid Growers of California, Kingsburg, Calif.,said a number of packers petitioned for the termination of the marketing orderbecause they believed they weren't getting their money's worth from theprogram.

Kriebel said handlers were assessed $32.50 per ton of raisins.

``Even if you're just a small packer handling 10,000 tons, that's $320,000that they are laying out,'' he said. ``Many of them thought (the promotionprogram) was not cost effective in the first place.''

Though Sun-Maid did not back the petition calling for the dissolution of theadvisory board, Kriebel said it is Sun-Maid's philosophy that ``it is alwaysbetter to spend your own money on your company's behalf, whether you're largeor small.''

He said raisin sales have not suffered as a result of the board's demise.

``This is the first year we did not have a state marketing order since about1949, and none of the terrible things people worried about happened,'' hesaid. ``We had a very good year as an industry in total raisin sales.''

He said sales are reported to be off about 2 percent, but he blamed thatfigure in part on inaccuracies in the reporting system.

``If you look at that 40-year time frame, we had one of the highest volumeyears in our history,'' he said.

Still, Koligian said: ``There is some consideration (about re-establishing theboard) going on behind the scenes, but there are some players within theindustry who are not prepared to come to the table to support a genericadvertising program category.''

Unless that happens, he said, it is ``very questionable'' whether the sameboard can be established.

``I don't think anybody so far has gathered the momentum to drive this thing(re-establishing the board) very far,'' said Jon Rodacy, vice president andgeneral manager of Dole Dried Fruit & Nut Co., Fresno. ``You've got toovercome all sorts of bureaucratic hurdles in order to put something like thisin place.''

Rodacy said the industry probably will be more concerned now about handlingthe incoming crop than worrying about establishing a marketing order.

``I would guess that, if there is going to be a Cal-RAB (advisory board)again, those efforts will start in December or January,'' he said. ``Ifthey're not done by July of next year, I would doubt that you are going to seea Cal-RAB come back.

``If they put a new Cal-RAB in place, and they made it fair to all theindustry players -- and it was out there promoting the product -- we wouldhave no argument against it,'' Rodacy said.

Kriebel said he would likely support an organization that would deal withmatters such as food safety, trade barriers and improving cultural practices.

``Those are things that Sun-Maid has always been a strong supporter of, and wecontinue to hope that the industry could at least come together on those threeissues,'' he said.

But Kriebel said membership should be voluntary.

``In the long run I think it's better to have a voluntary association, becausethen you really feel like it's your money and you end up spending it wiser,''he said.