It has all started rather smoothly for apple growers in the Northwest as picking commences and fruit is brought into the sheds. The timing of the start of the harvest was very close to the long term average and growing conditions have been devoid of any problems. Weather conditions have been moderate in the apple growing areas, with temperatures capped in the high 90s.
"People are picking apples already, including us," said Ray Norwood of Auvil Fruit Company located in Orondo Washington. "Yakima started about ten days ago and we began picking our first Gala apples a week ago. It's been an ideal year so far with the bloom going as planned and spring and summer growing conditions excellent. Temperatures have not been too high and the current smoke cover we are experiencing is preventing any sunburn to the fruit."
Norwood predicts that this year's volume will be slightly down on last year's very large crop. "Last year's crop will come in at 132 million cartons and while not a record, it will be one of the largest ever," he noted. "This year projections are much the same. However, some growers are already picking a bit lighter, so unless something changes in the north of the state later on, expectations are for the crop to be lighter than predicted, somewhere in the 125 - 130 million carton range."
'Big five' varieties the focus
As Norwood mentioned, Gala will be the first variety available out of Washington, to be subsequently followed by Honeycrisp. From there all the other varieties will follow. Auvil Fruit Company focus on five major varieties - Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Fuji and the Cripps Pink.
"Gala opens the season and very shortly we will be seeing Ginger Gold and Honeycrisp here in Washington," Norwood shared. "The start of the Granny Smith season will be in a week or two, followed by blocks of Fuji a short while later. Pink Lady is always the last one."
"It should be a good bounce back year for growers that had smaller sizes last year," he continued. "There is an anticipation for more normal sizes this year."
Tariffs are going to affect market
Over the past few months, we have seen the China-US trade war heat up with seemingly unlimited increases in tariffs imposed on each others' goods. Mexico is another region that has decided to apply tariffs on some US products, with apples specifically mentioned to have a 20 percent additional tariff applied. Apple growers are in no doubt that the tariffs will affect the apple market this year, with lower prices the most notable result. However, they also see a positive side to it as well.
"The tariffs will definitely affect the apple market this year," Norwood said. "We saw the effect they had on cherries in June and July which resulted in slower purchasing from customers and lower prices. So far, there have been no changes and therefore we expect to have a continuation of this for the apple market. It will however, provide an opportunity for us to trial new regions and markets."
Norwood added that overall, the fundamentals of the market are very good, and with the crop in such good condition, producers are positive. "Those that have been waiting on the new crop are excited to be seeing that shipping very shortly," he said. "California has had a very good apple season and we therefore have a positive outlook also."
For more information:
Ray Norwood
Auvil Fruit Company
Tel: +1 (509) 784-1711