While the processed and cider markets are good alternatives for apple growers when there are quality issues, the main market continues to be the fresh one. In fact, for many East Coast growers in the United States, the rising production levels across the country mean they'll rely more on the fresh market – just in increasingly diverse export destinations.
“If you look at the total production of the U.S. apple crop, we absolutely have to increase our exports by a very large amount to keep supply and demand at good levels,” said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association. “If we don't increase exports and try to sell everything in the United States, the market will be in the toilet for a long time.” Because the processing and cider markets are not viable alternatives for large volumes of fruit, exports are the way to make sure what's grown domestically doesn't result in a glut of product.
“We do have a processing base, but that's not the most prosperous market,” pointed out Allen. “The hard cider industry is emerging and growing, but I don't know of anybody yet that's planting orchards for the cider industry.” Likewise, growers in Ontario, Canada also still rely heavily on the fresh market.
“There aren't a lot of dollars for growers in processing,” explained Charles Stevens, chair of the Ontario Apple Growers. “Any processing that gets done is fresh pressed apple juice, but that part doesn't handle the volumes it used to.” In fact, most of the processing industry has moved out of Ontario, to places where processing costs are lower.
“There's very little processing of apples done in Ontario,” said Stevens. “Growers are moving toward fresh as much as possible.”