July 10, 2009

 

California Apples

Market Snapshot*

California growers are not yet shipping apples. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was reporting the following prices on selected varieties of Extra-Fancy Grade (fine appearance) tray packs currently shipping from the 2008 Washington harvest:

Red delicious: Size 72s and 80s, mostly $20; 88s, mostly $17-18; 100s, $14-16.

Golden delicious: Size 72s, $16-18; 80s, $14-16; 88s, $14; 100s, $12-14.

Fuji: Size 72s, $26-28; 80s, $26; 88s, $24-26; 100s, $15-17.

Granny smith: Size 72s and 80s, $24-26; 88s, $20-22; 100s, $14-16.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, July 8.

The Shipping Scene

Summer has barely begun, but California will launch the 2009-10 apple season in two to three weeks, with growers expected to produce more than 3 million boxes of good-quality apples for the second year in a row, according to projections from the Fresno-based California Apple Commission.

Trinity Fruit Sales Co. in Fresno plans to ship the first of 75,000 boxes of gala variety apples on schedule July 29, said John Hein, marketing director.

The company ships buckeye galas, which grow especially well in the central San Joaquin Valley, producing a nice shoulder, striped color and high brix level, Hein said.

Trinity will start its granny smith crop the third week in August, followed by fujis, which will ship through October.

"Trinity markets apples grown by Fresno-based Shebelut, which Hein said is "one of the premier growers in the valley."

The company's volume should be similar to last year's, and Hein expects prices also to be similar.

"Retailers, foodservice and wholesalers have done a fantastic job of promoting California apples," he said.

Lee Walker, owner of Walker Apples in Graton, said he anticipates good quality when he starts picking gravenstein apples Aug. 1.

"We had 4 inches of rain in May that really helped all the fruit," he said.

The only exception is the rome beauty crop, "which is a disaster," he said. Volume on the romes, which start harvesting Oct. 1, will be 20% of normal. Growers don't really know what went wrong, but Walker assumes some type of climatic condition is to blame.

Only a small portion of the crop goes to fresh market, however. The majority is destined for processors.

All of the company's apples will be "just a hair late" this year because of a cool summer and late bloom, he said. Walker Apples will start its golden delicious and jonathan crops the first week of September.

If you're in the market for a specialty apple, there's a good chance you'll find it at Sierra Glen Ranch Inc. in Sonora. The company offers 22 varieties, said Hal Denton, ranch manager.

"Everybody has their favorite," he said. "That's kind of our niche."

Besides enabling the company to offer such specialty varieties as spitzenberg, king david and Arkansas black, the extensive selection allows the ranch to stagger its picking and extend its program into November, he said.

Denton anticipates very good quality when the harvest gets under way at Sierra Glen Ranch in mid-August, in part because the fruit grows at an elevation of 3,600 feet.

"We have the appropriate amount of chill hours for all the apples we have," he said.

California produced about 3.5 million boxes of fresh-market apples last year and should have 3.2 million or more for the 2009-10 season, said Alex Ott, executive director of the California Apple Commission.

The granny smith is the state's most prolific variety with 1.9 million boxes produced last year and 1.7 million forecast for this season, Ott said. Next are galas, fujis, cripps pink, braeburn and limited volume of a few other varieties.

The state had 23,183 acres of apples when the last survey was taken three or four years ago, but Ott said growers now produce more apples per acre.

"We're doing more on less," he said.

California is the first state to market apples and usually finishes shipping by December or January, when other states are reaching full production.

About one-third of the state's apples are exported, one-third are shipped to other states and one-third are sold within California, Ott said.

(By Tom Burfield, Western correspondent for The Packer. The Packer and Red Book Credit Services are part of food360º, a division of Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill.)

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