The supply of apples from Pennsylvania is pretty tight. "Demand has been strong, especially through November and heading into Christmas," says Brandon Ruppert of Cohen Produce Marketing. "The packing houses are running pretty much at full capacity. It's full steam ahead."
Movement of the crop is ahead of where it was last year at this time. "Last year was a down year in Pennsylvania while this year is closer to normal," says Ruppert. "It's just that the retail business has been strong."
What could also be helping the brisk movement of apples from Pennsylvania is the lower crop of apples coming out of Virginia as well as the Carolinas. "So Pennsylvania could be benefiting from some of the other states already finishing or being close to finishing their season," he says.
Movement into 2026
It's anticipated that that pace of movement is expected to continue into 2026. While produce buying generally slows somewhat after the holidays given consumers are eating leftovers, January also brings a healthy eating boost and apple purchases generally benefit from this trend.
© Cohen Produce MarketingRuppert says that this year, it seems like apple exports started early and heavy and that demand continued right through the Christmas window for a lot of the export markets.
Meanwhile, on export demand, this season from the East Coast, which includes Michigan, is seeing a nice return. "Last year things were difficult with the port situation. The ports were fully closed for a couple of days in early October of 2024 and then that lingered until January so we struggled with exports last year," says Ruppert. "This year, it seems like we started early, we started heavy and that demand continued right through the Christmas window for a lot of the export markets."
Also from the East Coast, New York state was able to ship apples again to the United Kingdom following restrictions in recent years on minimum residue levels (MRLs). As for Pennsylvania apples, these exports have largely been targeted at Central and South America. "Last year because of the port situation in October, there were a lot of questions of what we could export, how could we export it and some of those customers jumped to the European market. We had to fight to get that business back during the rest of the year, but this year we had strong business from the start and it's continued all the way through."
Looking ahead
As for when the state will finish apple shipments, that may be tricky to determine given that Pennsylvania has some shorter term packers but also year-round packers and shippers. "So Pennsylvania does have apples all year long, but starting in January and February, some suppliers are done and it's left in the hands of a few growers," says Ruppert.
Meanwhile on pricing, most of the core varieties are pretty consistent and steady in pricing with last year given a surplus in some supplies of Galas, Goldens and Reds. Honeycrisp pricing is expected to continue to climb at retail given the fact that the apple's availability nationally turned out less than expected. In addition to these varieties, some late-season varieties such as Pink Lady and EverCrisp have come on in the past four to six weeks.
For more information:
Brandon Ruppert
Cohen Produce Marketing
Tel: +1 (717) 975-9111
[email protected]
http://www.cohenproduce.com/
