Market Update

Market Snapshot*

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was reporting the following prices on cartons of 12 3-pound film bags of U.S. Extra Fancy Grade apples from Michigan:

Gala, mostly $14-15; mcintosh, mostly $14-15; ginger gold, mostly $12-14; paula red, mostly $12-13.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Sept.16.

The Shipping Scene

Good growing weather and ample rainfall should bring on an abundant Michigan apple crop this year making plenty of large, good-quality fruit available, grower-shippers say.

The late-summer varieties, like paula red and ginger gold, will wind down over the next two weeks at Sparta-based Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc., said president Don Armock, and the company is moving into its fall varieties, which include the storage apples that will ship all year.

Gala, honeycrisp, mcintosh, jonamacs and jonathan varieties are just getting started, he said.

The fall crop is 10 to 14 days behind normal, which makes startup difficult, Armock said. But it will allow more time for the fruit to size, and outstanding weather is bringing a good finish to the fruit.

Armock expects a big crop this season - one of the largest of the past decade - with very high packouts. Volume at Riveridge should be 2.5 times as large as last year's unusually light crop and 50% above normal.

The company puts up primarily consumer packs and various forms of tray packs to help retailers make a strong presentation, Armock said.

With so much volume, Armock said the crop will have to move rapidly over the next few months.

"We don't have the tools to handle a crop this size unless we get tremendous movement in the fall," he said.

That means, Riveridge will need more market penetration than usual into south central and the southeastern U.S. and increased exports to Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and, to a lesser extent, South America.

Armock expects normal sizing and good quality.

"We should have a vintage crop in terms of eating quality," he said.

Mammoth Fruit Farms in Eau Claire started shipping apples the first week of August and now is shipping gala, mcintosh, cortland and honeycrisp apples along with some golden supremes, said owner Greg Prillwitz.

Rain helped the crop size, and quality is excellent, except for a few instances of scab that struck end rows in certain orchards. "It's not a big problem," Prillwitz said.

Volume at Mammoth Fruit Farms should be 110% of normal, and prices are fluctuating. They start out strong but drop as other regions come on and then they go back up as certain varieties start to wind down, Prillwitz said.

Although early rains were plentiful, he said a lack of precipitation from mid-July through the end of August hurt peak sizing on early fruit, but rain in September should help later fruit size up.

Wm. Burmeister Farms Inc. in Shelby started picking mcintosh apples this week, as expected, said Russ Burmeister, secretary /treasurer. Jonamacs will be next, followed by greenings or empires.

"Quality is not too bad," he said, but rainfall in late spring and early summer caused some scab issues that can cause deformed, cracked apples, especially on smaller sizes. That means the company, which produces mostly processing apples, will have to "turn some processing apples into juice."

Increased spraying combats the problem, which affects only certain varieties in certain areas. "It's not a widespread thing," Burmeister said.

On the positive side, the rain resulted in good sizing, and volume at Burmeister Farms is 20% above normal.

The Dewitt-based Michigan Apple Committee has forecast this year's Michigan apple crop at 26 million bushels, a significant increase over last year's light, 13 million-bushel crop.

The committee has planned a number of programs to help growers move their larger-than-normal volume, said Denise Donohue, executive director.

Two of the programs - rebate offerings for retailers - kick off Nov. 1. One is designed to promote certain varieties for baking, and the other promotes tray pack sales.

(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.)

September 18, 2009

Sponsored by:

Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc.