Select Page

Job Seekers - Achev - Connecting Skilled Newcomers with Employers 2
Job Seekers - Achev - Connecting Skilled Newcomers with Employers 2
Freedom Heart Ukraine
Job Seekers - Achev - Connecting Skilled Newcomers with Employers

Bob Romaniuk on Global Competition, Business Standards and Love for Garlic

Jan 16, 2018 | Featured, Community

Yuri Bilinsky, New Pathway – Ukrainian News.

There are few foods that are so traditional for Ukrainians as garlic or chasnyk. It’s quite symbolic that another iconic Ukrainian food, ham sausage or kovbasa, has a good share of chasnyk in it, so much so that there is a saying “I love garlic because it smells like sausage (Люблю часник, він пахне ковбасою)”.

Bob (Bohdan) Romaniuk of Brant County Garlic Company knows everything about garlic which he and his wife Irene have been growing for 40 years. On their 200 acres they grow 100 tonnes of garlic every year and have a hands-on approach to the business. Bob is there in the fields when the garlic is sawn and when it’s picked. He works alongside his people when the garlic is being dried and stored. We visited Bob when the garlic was being sorted and packed and one needed to see how carefully and lovingly he treated each garlic head he touched. Bob’s barn was full of hanging garlic threads, just like an old barn in Ukraine. Romaniuk doesn’t believe in fast-drying garlic in a heated room, “not if you need the garlic to last until the next summer”, he said. The traditional way to dry garlic is very labor-consuming but, as a result, the garlic gains weight and storage abilities.

It’s not easy to grow garlic either, said Romaniuk: “A lot of people think that garlic is a crop that nothing touches. The deer will come and eat it. It can get parasites from the ground, it gets disease like any other crop. I check it every day to see what stage it is at – the two leaf stage, four leaf stage or five leaf stage – before the seeds come out.”

Nowadays, garlic is becoming increasingly more popular. People are realizing its health benefits – it helps lower the blood cholesterol and is good for blood pressure. Bob used to cook for a living and still has his chef ticket. He understands the strong potential of the market for garlic in Canada. He explained: “The foodie thing has gotten crazy and the younger people are pursuing this trend. Take kale which used to be a garnish on a plate to make it look nice. Today kale is one of the hottest vegetables – kale chips, kale salad, kale in smoothies. Garlic is also becoming increasingly trendy. I eat a lot of it and especially like fresh garlic sandwiches – rye bread, butter and garlic with a bit of salt on it.”

The demand for garlic is so strong in Canada that there is not enough of it grown in our country to satisfy that demand. Garlic’s popularity is what helps Canadian garlic farmers develop in the harsh competition environment brought about by the NAFTA agreement. Prior to 1994, when NAFTA was introduced, Bob Romaniuk also grew garden vegetables and greens, which he discontinued due to the stiff competition from the powerful US producers that now control the market.

Much of the garlic, which is now sold in Canada, comes from China. But the Chinese garlic has no taste or smell, said Bob: “That’s because it’s bleached out, they even use radiation to kill any diseases. They put things on it that we can’t use in this country.”

Is the Canadian business environment conducive for garlic farmers? Bob doesn’t think so: “Canada has too many regulations. We import lower quality food from places like China and Mexico, and they get away with it. They pick the melons, grapes, cherries and tomatoes pretty well green, put them in trailers and gas them. Who knows what it can do to you? They’ve been doing it for years. I was once at a food safety meeting in Toronto and a guy from a leading supermarket chain got up and said, “I think we’re regulating our farmers to death – other countries don’t have the regulations that we do for the food safety.”

The growing popularity of locally grown foods may become the factor that will help the Canadian farmers going forward: “Even the upscale restaurants have a passion for local produce – it’s got a good taste and smell, and it’s presentable”, said Romaniuk.

Bob Romaniuk is passionate about garlic and helps others to start and develop their businesses: “We sell a lot of seed. We like to be truthful and honest with people, we like to treat people the way we like to be treated. There’s a lot of guys in the industry who don’t want to tell you anything. I and my wife, we are advocates of Ontario garlic.”

Garlic can be unforgiving to those who think that it’s an easy business. Bob explained: “For every 20 people that started growing garlic last fall, there’s only two left. They just don’t do their homework, don’t know what they’re doing. I say, you either like what you do or it doesn’t agree with you. I also say that that shiny wheelbarrow you have – you better hide it because it’s gonna get rusted and full of holes before you can fill it with money. They buy a 10-acre property and say “I want to grow garlic”. I ask them “Have you ever grown garlic before? Have you ever grown a garden before?” They say “no” and I say “Well I suggest you get yourself a half an acre to an acre first. You find a place to sell it, research your market. I have it on my website – 20 questions you ask before you start it. People call me, I spend hours on the phone, I offer them my help, whether they buy my seeds or not.”

Bob Romaniuk is conscious of garlic’s Ukrainian connection and is always there at the Ukrainian events and festivals: “It’s nice to sell it at Ukrainian events to be able to say that it is Ukrainian garlic grown by Ukrainians in Canada.” Every year, Romaniuks’ participate in at least seven Ukrainian functions throughout Ontario, from Windsor to Oshawa: “You can make money by selling your produce at the Bloor West Ukrainian Festival, but smaller events like church bazaars are not about making money for us, but rather about giving back to the community.”

Brant County Garlic Company: http://www.brantcountygarliccompany.com/

Share on Social Media

Announcement
Pace Law Firm
2/10 Years of War
Borsch

Events will be approved within 2 business days after submission. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Manage Subsctiption

Check your subscription status, expiry dates, billing and shipping address, and more in your subscription account.