CHICAGO — Reflecting reduced expectations in Washington state but an upward revision in the Michigan forecast, the U.S. Apple Association estimate for the 2022 U.S. apple crop is 244.18 million (42-pound size) cartons, down 4.2% from the USDA’s August estimate.
The U.S. Apple Association estimate was released at the group’s 127th Outlook Conference on Aug. 18-19 by Chris Gerlach, director of industry analytics for U.S. Apple. The group releases its own estimate of the U.S. apple crop at the annual event.
The total U.S. apple estimate of 244.18 million cartons from U.S. Apple was off 10.78 million cartons or 4.2% lower than the USDA’s August estimate; the U.S. apple estimate was 1.7% off from 2021 production and 7.6% lower than the five-year average.
The U.S. Apple Association estimate for Washington state was 143 million cartons, down 7.6%, or 11.7 million cartons lower than the USDA’s August estimate. The U.S. Apple estimate for Washington was 11.2% lower than last year’s Washington production and 15.3% lower than the five-year average for the state.
A big crop is expected in Michigan, where apple production was estimated at 29.5 million cartons by U.S. Apple, up 12.6%, or 3.3 million cartons higher than the USDA’s August estimate. The U.S. Apple estimate for Michigan reflects an 88.9% gain over 2021 production and is 33.2% higher than the five-year average.
New York apple output was forecast at 32.33 million cartons by U.S. Apple, down 6.3%, or 2.19 million cartons lower than the USDA’s August estimate. New York’s forecast by U.S. Apple is up 1.3% from 2021 production and unchanged from the five-year average.
