Officials at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association have lowered their 2021 estimate of the statewide apple harvest by 5.3%, adjusting their forecast down from 124.85 million to 118.255 million boxes.
Jon DeVaney, president of the association, said yesterday: “The apple harvest for some Washington varieties is still ending, but based on the volumes harvested so far, our members expect a decrease. Our members report smaller harvests of some varieties, such as Honeycrisp, Galas and Red Delicious. The high temperatures at the beginning of the season affected what was eventually harvested in some cases. The organic harvest is still projected to exceed 15 million boxes.”
“Despite the smaller harvest, we are seeing high-quality fruit and consumers can expect delicious Washington apples in 2022,” he added. The new estimate of 118.255 million boxes would be a decrease of 3.1% from the apple harvest of 122 million boxes of 2020 and 12.1% less than the harvest of 134.5 million boxes of 2019.
Source: 6park.news