What was once considered a short U.S. apple crop is getting a little bit more average later in the marketing season.
In November, the first storage report for the 2021-2022 apple crop from the U.S. Apple Association showed domestic inventories on Nov. 1 were 7.1% below the same time in 2020.
In the most recent USAppleTracker report, however, fresh apples in storage on May 1 were 41.2 million bushels cartons, 8.5% more than the inventories reported for last May but similar to the five-year average.
The report said processing holdings totaled 17 million bushels, 1% more than last year on May 1. The total number of U.S. apples in storage on May 1 was 58.2 million bushels, 6.2% more than last May’s total of 54.8 million bushels and 0.1% more than the 5-year average for that date.
Price and shipment trends
The USDA reported that the average fob price for all U.S. apples on May 7 was $28.32 per carton, up from $27.55 per carton in early April but down from $29.03 in early November.
The average fob price for Honeycrisp apples was $44.87 per carton in early May, down from $46.58 per carton in early April and down from $52.72 per carton in early November, according to the USDA.
The USDA said the average fob price for gala apples was $31.14 per carton in early May, up from $29.21 per carton in early April and up from $27.32 per carton in early November.
In contrast, the average fob price for red delicious apples showed price weakness compared with earlier in the season. The early May average red delicious fob price was $20.21 per carton, down from $22.66 in early April and down from $22.30 per carton in early November, according to USDA numbers.
Total U.S. domestic and imported apple shipments reported the week of May 1-7 were 3,018 (40,000-pound) truckloads, the USDA said, down about 3% compared with the same period a year ago. Imports, mostly from Chile, accounted for 5% of total supplies shipped up from 4% import share the same week last year.
