U.S. apple production estimates for 2013 announced

The U.S. Apple Association released its annual estimates on the 23th of August at the U.S. Outlook Marketing Conference.

Despite setbacks in Washington, U.S. apple production is expected to increase by 13% in 2013 with approximately 243 million bushels. It has been estimated that around 243 million bushels are expected to be produced this season, which is an improvement on the 216 million bushels which were produced in 2012. Heavy frosts had nearly decimated apple harvests in 2012 and had brought the harvest down to 216 million bushels. If all estimations are correct, 2013 will be the 12th largest crop in U.S. history.

The largest contributor to this comeback is the state of Michigan who will most likely produce 30.5 million bushels in 2013 compared to the 2.7 million bushels they produced 2012. New York state also bounced back with a volume leap from 17.1 million bushels in 2012 to 30.5 million bushels this year. These two states helped make up for the 7% decrease, from 154.8 million bushels in 2012 to 143.9 million bushels 2013, in the industry leading state of Washington.