United Apple reports surge in eastern apple harvest

Stronger-than-expected yields have been reported for New York’s apple harvest, according to Lyndonville, N.Y.-based United Apple Sales.

Orchards and packing facilities in western New York have seen ideal growing and harvest conditions, which is yielding an increase in volume and sizing, and producing great color, Brett Baker, president of United Apple Sales, said in a news release.

“This spring we had great weather and fortunately no major weather events over the summer,” Baker said in the release. “The fall, with its warm days and cool nights, has been near perfect for the crop’s increased volume of apples.”

Sizing of fruit is peaking in the preferred retail sizes of 100 to 80 count, Baker said in the release.

Local favorites such as Cortland and Macs started picking in mid-September and have shown good volume and sizing, according to the release.

Harvest of Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, and Red Delicious are well underway with tremendous size, color and flavor, according to the release. 

The largest crop to date of Pink Lady will harvest around Nov. 1, while the club varieties RubyFrost and SnapDragon were harvesting the first week of October. EverCrisp is scheduled to harvest the last week of October, according to the release.

The regional Honeycrisp outlook is looking exceptionally strong, Baker said in the release. The 2022 crop of Honeycrisp was down, but this year, the Honeycrisp crop has rebounded with increased volume and anticipated sizes peaking in 88 to 72 count sizes, according to the release. 

“New crop, high-color fruit is nearly all in storage now, and we anticipate it keeping very well into next year,” Baker said in the release. “With the overall strength of this year’s crop and increased storage capabilities, eastern Honeycrisp will be available for late spring and early summer promotional activities to support this variety’s No. 1 position in the apple category.”

Club varieties EverCrisp, RubyFrost and SnapDragon are developing a stronger consumer following as they are locally grown, and offer their unique flavor profiles, the release said. Each variety has seen double-digit growth in volume and consumer sales over the past three years.

This season, SnapDragon and EverCrisp are expected to harvest an additional 25%, the release said, with better sizing and color for United’s retail partners. 
SnapDragon is off to a great start with multiple promotions slated for the month of October, Baker said in the release.

The orchards of the new apples are maturing, and the United Apple team is gaining more experience in specific growing techniques to maximize the varieties’ quality and color.

“We anticipate a 20% increase in production with club varieties as our orchards are in their seventh and eighth year of production, yielding more volume and offering consistent sizing and eating quality,” Baker said in the release.

Since RubyFrost and EverCrisp are late-season varieties, they help retailers extend the traditional apple season, the release said. In addition, Baker said they are great storage apples, which enables retail partners to feature these consumer favorites in promotional calendars that extend beyond the fall season.

Pink Lady growth

Pink Lady continues to be a growth leader in mainline varietals both in sales revenue and volume per year, the release said. There has been more than a 30% increase in year-over-year results for the Pink Lady, Baker said in the release.

Baker indicated significant acres of Pink Lady are being added to the United Apple master plan, with new orchards scheduled for planting in the spring of 2023 and each following year.

“Pinks have historically been a Washington and imported variety,” Baker said in the release. “We have shown that our eastern-region-grown Pinks offer exceptional flavor, great color and increasing volume to support our retail partners with sustainable year-round volume. When you factor in the advantages of locally grown, eastern-region fruit, and a significant cost savings on transportation, our Pink program offers a very strong market advantage for our retail partners domestically and internationally.”