While the produce industry is no stranger to supply and demand issues, a couple stories in 2025 shined a light on some less common supply problems that will continue with us in 2026 (and likely beyond).
On the one hand, in late January, a survey of U.S. beekeepers uncovered a staggering 62% loss of commercial honeybee colonies across the U.S. A follow-up survey went out to find out the cause, but by the end of February, experts still didn’t know the answer. The Packer’s Jennifer Strailey went into detail on what honeybee experts do know about the losses.
Historically, honeybees have been declining for a number of interrelated reasons. While the significant decline discovered in January might be due to those usual reasons, “it could be a new, novel disease, an environmental stressor that we hadn’t thought about or a combination of many things,” said one of Strailey’s sources.
Given the long-term trend in colony losses, it is certain this will be a dynamic in 2026 and beyond.
On the other hand, during the U.S. Apple Outlook conference in mid-August, experts presented the industry’s problem: Too many of the wrong kind of apple trees are still in growing in orchards while consumers demand new varieties at the store.
The Packer’s Christina Herrick summed the problem up with the question: “Is it time to pull out apple trees?” The answer, it seems, is a resounding “yes.”
“At the end of the day, we know the answer, so we can either do it by choice or by force,” said one expert who highlighted the historic trends across varieties. “I think we will expect large orchard removal starting after this crop year.”
Shifts in orchards will, of course, take time, so this too will play out in 2026 and in years beyond.
