The fall supply of the only organic apples from Arizona is coming in in good volume.
The apples, marketed by Covilli Brand Organics Inc. in Nogales, AZ., hail from a 400-acre farm in the valley between the south side of Mount Graham and the Cochise Stronghold. “There’s a microclimate there that gives them the right conditions and flavor,” says Garland Hatfield of Covilli. “The orchard is located in high altitude and it gets the cold days the trees require.”
Right now, Royal Galas, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Sweeties and Ambrosias have been harvested and Fujis, Pink Ladies and Sundowners are about to be packed. And while apples from the region tend to be smaller, they also tend to be packed fresh and not sent to storage, unlike how it’s done in other regions of the country.
Early days yet
“The volume of apples is very similar to the supply from last year, but we’ve just started. We’ve only been running for four weeks now so it’s hard to get a good gauge,” says Hatfield, who notes the apples are largely sent up the West Coast all the way up to Oregon. “It takes a good month and a half to see where your numbers are at.”
What is known is that there’s a large supply of organic apples already in the marketplace. “There are a lot of supplies in Washington and California. Probably the most they’ve ever had this season,” says Hatfield. “They’ve also had storage apples left from last year. So there were no gaps throughout the season where there normally would be.” Normally Arizona begins its harvest before Washington to get a head start, but the timing of this year’s season thwarted that.
Pricing slump
Not surprisingly, this is seriously impacting pricing on organic apples. “What’s happening right now in the organic apple marketplace is unprecedented,” says Hatfield. “There’s just a glut of supply and we’re seeing the cheapest prices we’ve ever seen. We’re talking with our grower to evaluate pricing strategies and we’re not sure if we’re going to finish packing our entire crop. We’re not sure if there’s a return the grower can live on or whether it’ll go to juice or be left on the tree.”
Hatfield estimates pricing is down some 40 percent compared to this time last year. “It’s significant and it’s probably more depending on the variety of apples,” says Hatfield. “Gala bags for example are going for $13/box and that’s pretty much the same as conventional. That’s unheard of. We’ve never seen this kind of pricing in organic apples.”
Looking ahead, while Hatfield hopes pricing might change, he’s not sure that will happen. “With apples, pricing, once it goes down it tends to stays down,” he says. “Once it gets going, it just doesn’t stop.”
For more information:
Garland Hatfield
Covilli Brand Organics Inc.
Tel: +1 (520)377-2202
garland@covilli.com
www.covilli.com