An organic farm near McArthur, California, that uses regenerative farming practices to grow organic garlic without using fertilizers or pesticides is reminding consumers that “garlic from China has many problems.”
Basaltic Farms, which according to its Facebook page primarily grows organic garlic and offers customers organic seeds to help them grow their own garlic, has said in a statement that “the most alarming issue” with garlic from China is that methyl bromide and bleach are used in the production and processing. The farm, which is “in the mountains of Northern California’s Lassen County,” cited studies showing that imported Chinese garlic “contains a bio-accumulation of toxic metals like lead and cadmium.”
“We know they use pesticides and non-organic fertilizers such as urea and human waste. If people knew, they would stop buying it,” the statement provided to USDA Newswire said.
Demand for garlic from China has been driven largely by lower prices and the public being unaware of garlic growing and processing operations in China, Olam Spices said.
The United States imported approximately “199 million pounds of fresh and 155 million pounds of dried garlic” in 2018, with much of it coming from China, Olam Spices said in citing United Nations Comtrade data.
More than 1 million farmers grow garlic in China in five growing regions. Those farmers use fertilizers and pesticides without documentation or regulation. The farmers frequently grow garlic alongside peanuts, raising concerns about potential allergen risks.
In the early 1990s, China accounted for 2% of garlic imports to the U.S., Spices Inc. said. By 2012, China imported around 66% of the U.S.'s garlic. California's Central Valley region has rich soil and the ideal climate for growing garlic, but California farmers have been growing less and less garlic as Chinese garlic has flooded the market.
Some U.S. garlic growers appreciated former President Donald Trump's tariffs on garlic from China, noting that the tariffs allowed them to boost domestic garlic sales, Reuters reported.
“In a perfect world, we’d love to see the tariffs stay on forever,” Ken Christopher, executive vice president of family-owned Christopher Ranch, told Reuters in 2019.
Trump's America First policies to depend less on foreign sources for the supply chain made sense, Basaltic Farms’ statement said, noting, "The tariffs make it better for small farms to compete by helping level the playing field as China dumps garbage garlic on American consumers at low prices.”
