Washington Apples 23/24 Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. With a boost in production for the 2023/24 crop year, Washington apple exports are strong as the new year gets underway.
Washington Apple Commission president, Todd Fryhover says so far, so good …
FRYHOVER … “Yeah, they are. Of course, as you suggested, we had a larger crop. So last year we were 104 million fresh and this year we are a 139 million fresh so that’s a fairly significant increase.”
And our top exports markets, Fryhover says have remained steady …
FRYHOVER … “No, that hasn’t changed. You know, Mexico is consistently our number one export market. I mean, obviously, it’s close by, you know, there’s a long-term relationship. They take all varieties, all grades, all sizes. So, there’s a very deep relationship there.”
As there is, Fryhover says with our neighbors to the north …
FRYHOVER … “Canada, the same way. The beauty about Canada is they have an interest in new varieties. You know, Honeycrisp is a variety that’s going in volume into Canada along with our new Cosmic Crisp. So, it’s a very high-value, high volume market for us, very important.”
Good news, following some rough weather years and the pandemic …
FRYHOVER … “I agree. We lived them over here. They were definitely strange, and you had to pull out, you know, new outlooks on how to promote.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on Washington apples and what to expect in the year ahead.
