Washington apple marketers are poised to fill major supply gaps in the East and Midwest this fall with what is expected to be a record crop.
Unoffically weighing in at nearly 120 million cartons — more than 10 million cartons larger than the previous record — the crop will result in shifting promotions as retailers balance much smaller New York and Michigan crops, the perennial second- and third-largest producers, respectively.
Steve Lutz Marketers with apples should be in good shape in the 2012-13 season, said Steve Lutz, executive vice president of Nielsen Perishables Group, which analyzes retail sales numbers.
But overall U.S. apple sales could suffer because of the shortfall in some regions, Lutz said.
Higher prices expected at retail and a change in the mix of varieties will result in some consumers who will search out substitutes for apples, he said.
“Western producers are going to have to work really hard to get those promotions shifted to Western apples and not lose those promotions to grapes or berries or pears or some other variety,” Lutz said.
Washington’s bumper crop
Washington shippers should “make out like bandits” with the apple shortage in the East and Midwest, said Barry Winkel, general manager of Greg Orchards & Produce Inc., Benton Harbor, Mich.
“Hopefully somebody profits from this,” Winkel said.
The current Washington fresh apple crop (2011-12) is projected at 107.5 million cartons, the third-largest ever behind the 109 million-carton crop of 2010, said Dan Kelly, assistant manager of the Wenatchee-based Washington Growers Clearing House.
Kelly said the official production estimate for the 2012-13 crop will be released in August.
How much labor is available to pick the crop could determine how big the crop ends up being.
“To go from 107 to 120 is a huge jump,” he said. “To get enough people to pick 120 is going to be a challenge,” he said. Storage space for a crop that big could also be a concern, Kelly said.
Keith Mathews, chief executive officer of FirstFruits Marketing of Washington, Yakima, said the first apples from Washington are expected to be harvested in mid-August.
Washington typically supplies about 60% of the nation’s fresh apple crop and the percentage is likely to climb in the 2012 season, said Roger Pepperl, marketing director for Stemilt Growers LLC, Wenatchee.
While Washington’s top shipment months are typically February, March and April, Pepperl said Washington apple shipments could make a bigger effect before Christmas.
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