Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

Pricing strengthening on Michigan apples

Demand for apples from Michigan continues to be steady. "Sales are gradually declining as consumers look for other fruit and try new things. We are seeing that annual consumption decrease," says RJ Simons of Riveridge Produce Marketing, Inc., who adds that recently launched industry initiatives such as the "Eat More Apples" campaign and others are working to help boost consumption of the fruit.

Also helping the consumption of apples for Riveridge is its fresh cider program–a whole apple pressed program that touts the same health benefits as eating an apple. The program, which blends three different varieties to balance sugar, PH levels, and more, is also available in a single-serve grab-and-go option.

Raising the level of consumption of apples is still a key focus for Riveridge, even with the overall apple volume being down this year by 15 percent compared to last year. However, it is up 20 percent compared to the five-year average. "The growth over the longer term is due to increased bearing surface and younger plantings reaching full harvest potential," says Simons. "This will be the new normal moving forward."

Smaller Eastern crop
The eastern part of the country has seen a smaller crop for 2024-2025 compared to the 2023-2024 harvest. "The most noticeable change is with Honeycrisp volume being down. They are a biannual bearing piece of fruit and we've done what we can with orchard practices to mitigate that as much as possible. However, it's still coming off a large harvest in 2023-2024. It's affecting the total volume," says Simons, adding that nationally, the availability of the variety is generally down over the year before.

Back in Michigan, the Golden Delicious variety is also down fairly substantially thanks to strong processing market demand early in the season. While normally the state would carry a 52-week program on the variety, this year it's expected to wind down in the spring.

So where is all of this leaving pricing? It has strengthened compared to last year. The season began with a heavy carryover of supply which in turn launched promotions in late summer and early fall. "Now that people have evaluated their holdings, it's clear that the overall national crop is tighter than where they had been and there's probably less carryover into the 2025 harvest," says Simons.

Looking ahead, once spring arrives, there are likely to be more market adjustments on apples as growers and shippers continue to evaluate their holdings.

For more information:
RJ Simons
Riveridge Produce
Tel: +1 (616) 887-6873
www.riveridgeproduce.com