Wenatchee, Wash.-based CMI Orchards is steadily growing in organic apples, pears, and cherries, said Joel Hewitt organic sales manager.
“Much of our growth is coming from our high flavor/managed organic varieties,” Hewitt said.
CMI Orchards is a grower-packer-shipper of organic apples, pears and cherries grown primarily in Washington state, he said.
Organic gala is the marketer’s most popular apple variety in terms of volume, Hewitt said, and more specifically organic gala packed in 2-pound bags.
In terms of new organic offerings this season, Hewitt said CMI is marketing organic SugarBee apples for the first time.
“Although it will be very limited this season, it is an item that we are very excited to be a part of,” he said.
In sum, CMI has more than 16 organic apple varieties to choose from with various packaging options this season, including private label.
CMI also offers fruit certified by the Equitable Food Initiative. “We take pride in this certification to help ensure that we are using all voices in the industry to help us to work towards continuously improving our food supply system,” Hewitt said.
Organic importance
CMI Orchards has the best growers to produce apples, pears and cherries organically, Hewitt said.
While there are higher costs to grow fruit organically, Hewitt said eastern Washington state has an advantage in the U.S. to grow high-quality organics at large scale because of its dry climate, rich soil and a large accessible water source from the Columbia River.
Overall, organic apple supply in Washington state is down this year by an estimated 6% because of weather challenges growers have experienced since bloom in the spring.
