Hudson River Fruit Distributors sees excellent quality, strong demand

Hudson River Fruit Distributors is actively marketing SnapDragon, RubyFrost and EverCrisp apples in 2022, said Alisha Albinder Camac, owner and operator of the Milton, N.Y-based apple marketer.

"SnapDragon is continuing to increase in volume and sales year over year and we are getting great market response for EverCrisp," Albinder Camac said. "Customers are also excited to see RubyFrost back on the shelves and sales have been off to a great start."

Apple quality has been excellent for apples coming out of controlled atmosphere storage and that should continue, she said.

Large apple shippers miss the USDA’s Food Box Program this year, Camac said. "This was a very large part of the program last year, which is significantly smaller now."

While Washington apple growers have experienced a shorter crop compared with expectations, Camac said Hudson River Fruit Distributors and other New York suppliers have a large crop to sell and will keep pushing New York apples into the summer months.

"Bagged apple demand has been strong at retail and many shoppers’ buying partners have pushed this way over the past one and a half years," she said. "There are still a lot.