The 2025 crop of apples from Nova Scotia is smaller than the 2024 crop. "We've had a drought this year. Up until last week, our last major rain was in June so it's been months without any appreciable amount of rain," says David Parrish of Scotian Gold Cooperative, adding that most of the growers in the province don't necessarily irrigate given there's generally enough rain in the growing season.
© Scotian Gold Cooperative
In turn, the estimates are that the crop will be down about 30 percent thanks in part to smaller yields. "Now we still have lots of apples and we're working with our retailers to hopefully receive allowances on sizing," Parrish says.
In terms of varieties, Honeycrisp is the variety that's believed to have been the most affected. That said, as an apple that generally grows larger in size, smaller sizing this season because of the drought means it could be more skewed size-wise to what the market looks for.
Quality boost on apples
What could also be an upside is the quality being seen this season. "The Brix are up significantly on the fruit and the quality is exceptional," adds Parrish.
While the season started as per historical timing, growers may finish harvesting earlier than normal because of the smaller crop being harvested by the same amount of labor. Harvest could be near completion by October 25th.
© Scotian Gold Cooperative
As for demand, things look different from a year ago. A year ago, there was still 2023 crop from Washington as well as 2024 Southern Hemisphere fruit carry-over. "This year however the pipelines were empty so we've had a really good September," says Parrish. "I think demand will stabilize more as the season continues."
Meanwhile, pricing is similar to last year, though Honeycrisp pricing is down slightly for now. "We had strong Honeycrisp demand last year because of the lower volumes of the variety in the U.S.," says Parrish.
For more information:
David Parrish
Scotian Gold Cooperative
[email protected]
https://scotiangoldapples.com/
