Great weather has contributed to a clean, plentiful amount of apples harvested out of Washington this season. Large early volumes of Galas made for a prices that have settled below those from last year.“We're picking a record crop out of the orchards,” said Randy Steensma, general manager for Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company. “Sizing is about one size larger than the previous year.” He credited perfect growing conditions during the bloom time for the prodigious amount of fruit and the quality of this year's crop. But the fast start to the season, especially when it came to Galas, made for prices that were below those from last season. While they were getting about $28.00 to $30.00 per carton of Galas last year, this year's prices have been closer to $20.00 per carton.
“The pipeline was pretty empty at the start of the season, so everyone started packing a lot of Galas,” explained Steensma. “Everyone probably over-packed on the Gala deal, so that's part of the reason for lower prices. But we have had record movement.” Growers also factor in the possibility of hail damage into their plans of how much fruit they will pick for the season, and with clear weather, the expected loss of fruit has not panned out.
“Some orchards are picking higher than their estimates,” said Steensma. “So there's some concern about storage, and it's going to be a little snug until the crop is in the barn.”
For more information:
Randy Steensma
Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company
+1 509 663 2625