Apple Export Marketing Pt 1

Apple Export Marketing Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. After the new five year strategic plan is complete, the Washington Apple Commission will host reps from their top five markets, Mexico, China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia, to discuss their needs.

President Todd Fryhover says one topic will be new apple varieties...

TODD FRYHOVER ... "You know, Honeycrisp, of course, is a big new variety. The Cosmic Crisp is a variety that's being planted this year and there's huge expectations for grower returns on that side. There's also a whole slew of proprietary varieties that are out there as well. So, yes, we look at markets like Viet Nam and China as real focal points for some of these new varieties because you have to be able to pay, sometimes, 25 to 50 percent more than the general market prices for these main-stream varieties on these new varieties."

And, Fryhover says, that's where number one export market, Mexico comes in ...

TODD FRYHOVER ... "They took 15-million boxes in 2014. They are a key player in maintaining the profitability of the domestic market. India, India is a huge Red Delicious market. 97 percent of all the product that goes into India is Red Delicious. They took 5.6 million cartons from the state of Washington in 2014. So, as these new varieties that come on the domestic market displace Red Delicious, that Red Delicious has tremendous opportunities in markets such as India, and even Indonesia and China as well."

Red Delicious and Galas make up 30 percent of the Washington crop, but 65 percent of the exports.

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