Where Washington’s apples (golds and granny smiths) in larger sizes are extremely short in supply and the industry seeing better yields on 100s and smaller for the other varieties, New York’s apple supplies “are dwindling rapidly,” said Jim Allen, Vice President of Marketing at New York Apple Sales.
New York is currently shipping Red Delicious, McIntosh, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Empire; Nova Scotia is still shipping Honey Crisp, and New Zealand has KORU and Honey Crisp now in the market place. “We partner with Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative, which is made up of New York Apple Sales, Oneonta Starr Ranch, and Borton Fruit to import (the New Zealand) Koru. “This collaboration allows us to be more cost effective and allows us to supply customers with new crop Koru from coast to coast.”
Domestic production of the KORU brand apple will begin to expand with harvest coming in late September of 2017, with increases in volume coming from both its orchards in the East, and Borton and Oneonta providing the market with West Coast grown fruit.
A partnership between New York Apple Sales, apple growers and apple marketers have formed a company called Fruit Forward. Fruit Forward’s mission is to identify new apple cultivars from around the world and help introduce them to the US market place.
Prices are holding compared to last year’s import prices but expectations for the coming season are too early to tell. “We are just entering critical stages of bloom in some areas,” he explained. Consumption will be determined on the quality of fruit, he added. Growing conditions have been on time and as per usual so far but as far as any issues with fruit pollination, “it’s too early to tell.”
For more information:
Jim Allen
New York Apple Sales
Tel: 518-477-7200
