Supplies of apples are still good out of the Pacific Northwest. “However, we do expect to run out of Honeycrisp around late spring/early summer,” says Scott Marboe with Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers. “Once the domestic Honeycrsip crop is finished, we switch to imports from New Zealand where we own quite a few hectares,” Marboe added. This year, Oneonta aims to import between 300,000 and 400,000 carton equivalents, but growth is on the horizon. “Our goal is to ship between 700,000 and 850,000 cartons next season as we are continuing to grow the Honeycrisp import program.”
Honeycrisp apples from Oneonta in New Zealand. Pictures were taken just last week.
One of the first exporters to Asia
Right now, Marboe sees strong exports of Washington apples to the Asian front. “Asia has always been a great export market for Washington apples and Oneonta has been extremely involved in apple exports to Asia from the beginning. Dalton Thomas, Oneonta’s former owner and president, was one of the first to export to Asia. We are proud of our role in it.”
India is a strong market for Red Delicious and movement of Galas to India has also been increasing recently. “There is good movement of Fuji apples into Taiwan and China is strong across the board,” said Marboe. He also notices growing demand from Vietnam and believes that offering a consistent and reliable product is the key to a successful export product. “We keep growing a great product and food safety and technology have helped us become better.”
For additional information:
Scott Marboe
Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers
Tel: 509-888-5120