British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley has seen an ideal growing season for its apple crop. “We haven’t had any challenges during bloom,” says Chris Pollock with BC Tree Fruits Cooperative. “We’ve had some rain early in the season, but that didn’t affect the fruit during bloom,” he added.
Early summer varieties stay local
The Cooperative is at least a month away from harvesting its early varieties that include Sunrise and Ginger Golds. “Our season starts with summer varieties, but they are available in small volumes only. We have programs with retailers in Western Canada and these varieties stay local.” Harvest of the first commercial crop is on track for an early September start with McIntosh and Royal Gala.
Ambrosia apple variety
Similar volumes compared to last year
This year’s apple crop in BC is estimated to be similar in volume compared to last year. “It is still a little early to throw out numbers,” said Pollock. “If anything, this year’s volume may be a bit higher than last year’s. If the weather cooperates, we expect a good 2017/2018 crop.”
Pollock notices that club varieties like Ambrosia, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are trending while the popularity of Red Delicious and Golden Delicious goes down. The growers within BC Tree Fruits’ cooperative are planting more Ambrosia and within the next five to ten years Pollock expects this variety to be the largest in terms of volume for BC Tree Fruits.
“Western Canada is the primary market place for our apples, but we also export to the US and Southeast Asia,” shared Pollock. The US is the largest export market for BC Tree Fruits’ Ambrosia exports, represented by Oppy. Canadian-grown Ambrosia is also very popular in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. The club variety was founded in Canada and Pollock feels the country grows a high-quality apple that sets them apart from other Ambrosia-growing regions in the world.
For more information:
Chris Pollock
BC Tree Fruits
Tel: 250-470-4213