High-tech sorters boost export quality for Michigan apples

High-tech sorters are helping Michigan apple growers deliver a high-quality product to export markets.

Don Armock, president of Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc., Sparta, Mich., said export demand for red delicious apples is up.

While red volumes shipped domestically continue to decline nationwide, new strains have increased quality, and export markets continue to gobble them up, Armock said.

"I think exports will be up this year," Armock said. "We have a bigger red crop than we've had in the past four years, and it's in a size profile that's an advantage to some markets. There's a preponderance of mediums and larges."

And good quality and size is aided by other factors, Armock said.

"Currency makes a difference, and Washington state's success makes a difference," he said.

Central and South America and the Caribbean are Riveridge's traditional export markets, and Asia is an emerging market, with reds to India among the more recent success stories.

Other areas of Asia, though, prefer empires, fujis or other varieties, Armock said.

To ensure that its apples have the appearance and the hardiness to withstand long journeys that export markets demand, Riveridge has made a big investment in recent years in making sure its packing lines have internal defect sorters, Armock said.

In fact, for the first time this year, all of the lanes on all of the company's packing lines will have the sorters, he said.

"It brings some confidence to our customers," Armock said.

Riveridge also has made big strides in making sure its apples get the best wax jobs possible when export and other customers demand it, he said.

Tom Labbe, sales manager/domestic accounts for Jack Brown Produce, Sparta, Mich., agrees that technology plays a huge role in making sure export product meets customers' qualifications.

In the past six months, Jack Brown upgraded its packing lines to make sure all export product is graded and sorted properly. Meeting color specs can be especially import for exports, he said.

"We want to make sure that what goes in the bag or tray is only the best we ship," he said.

Central and South America and the Caribbean should remain Jack Brown's top export destinations again this season, Labbe said. The company has had talks about shipping to Asia but nothing has been nailed down yet.

"Right now it's not on our radar."

BelleHarvest Sales Inc., Belding, Mich., focuses its business on domestic customers, but exports make up a part of its overall mix, said Chris Sandwick, the company's vice president of sales and marketing.

"We look at exports strategically depending on the crop," he said.

This season, for instance, sizes are on the big side, with plenty of 72s and 80s on early-season fruit. As a result, Sandwick said, more of it would likely stay at home - U.S. markets tend to prefer bigger fruit.

When BelleHarvest does export, the Caribbean and South America are among its biggest customers, Hardwick said. The company also is looking at Vietnam, India and other countries for new opportunities.