USApple Outlook

USApple Outlook. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report. The apple harvest is underway in the northwest and promises to be another good crop. Other growing regions in the states are having a more normal year after the disastrous drought last year. USApple earlier this week pulled together all the growing regions and came up with a 246.5 million bushel crop estimate for 2013. If everything holds that would be the 12th largest crop in history. Both Eastern and Midwest apple production has come back to normal levels while out here in the west there is an estimated 8% drop. The Washington Fresh Apple crop is estimated at 120-million boxes. A box is 40 pounds. The five-year average is at 111 million. Variety breakouts are interesting as Red Delicious remain the top producers but have declined since 2001. Gala’s are now the number 2 apple with 22%. Fuji and Granny Smith’s at 14 and 13 percent respectively. Golden’s now only claim 9% of the market while Honeycrisp has moved up to 5%. Overall the western states will produce approximately 63% of the total crop with the east and midwest combined at 37%. It does look like another good year for apples here in the northwest. That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.