Bumper apple harvest expected
Near-record crop for Washington growers shouldn’t hamper marketing, official says
WENATCHEE – Based on recently released estimates, the 2010 apple crop looks like it could be a whopper.
The Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association and Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association estimate this year’s Washington fresh apple crop to be about 108.8 million boxes. The estimate is almost identical to the record-breaking 2008 crop of 109 million, said Dan Kelly, assistant manager of the Washington Growers Clearing House. He added that on average, the crop estimate can be high or low by 5 percent.
Despite the large estimated crop, Charles Pomianek, executive director of the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association, said he and others in the industry expect marketing to go well. He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released its total crop estimate for the national crop, and 10 million fewer boxes than last year are expected. That number includes processor apples.
“That’s really good for Washington growers,” Pomianek said of the lower national estimate.
Kelly said estimates for the European crop appear to be down and China has had some weather issues that will likely translate into a smaller crop. “On a worldwide market, the number looks good.”
Pomianek said the mix of apples this year also looks good, with no heavy concentration of one variety over another. He said Red Delicious are still No. 1 with about 33 percent of the crop, followed by Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. The five make up 88 percent of the crop.
“There’s really good diversification,” Pomianek said. “That really helps when you’re planning out your marketing strategies.”
Supplies of the 2009 crop are low, noted Pomianek, with less than 10 percent left in storage. “We’ve had good movement in the last couple of weeks.”
He said the record-breaking 2008 crop got under way with a running start, making movement of the crop good. Pomianek said he expects the same opportunity for this year’s crop.
Being a bit later than normal is also expected to help movement of the crop, he said.
Weather still may determine the size of the crop.