Apples
Apples are a perennial favorite with consumers: 90% of all consumers buy apples, according to The Packer 2026 Fresh Trends Report. The ever-growing number of apple varieties creates marketing opportunities for Produce Retailers.
U.S. growers forecast 20% more SweeTango apples for the 2024 forecast, which will allow the marketing season to stretch longer this season.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has demanded the cooperative repay its debts following the announcement it would cease operations.
Marketers say it’s going to be a good year for Eastern apples — with harvest underway in parts of the region — thanks to good weather.
The organic market is still evolving, and marketers are learning the effect of inflation on consumer choices. Still, there is optimism for organic produce’s future, said Dan Davis, vice president of business development.
From July 2023 through June 2024, the value of U.S. fresh exports rose for apples, berries, oranges, while dropping for potatoes and lettuce, according to the USDA.
Smith was recognized by peers, colleagues and a senator for her tireless work promoting the Michigan and U.S. apple industries.
Brett Baker, president of United Apple Sales in New York, will lead the U.S. Apple Association’s board of directors for 2024-25.
The association announced the figure, which is down about 10.1% from last year’s final production figure, during its Outlook 2024 conference in Chicago.
Cold Connect, a Union Pacific Railroad program that shipped fresh produce and other perishables across the country, has fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Van Doren Sales Inc., East Wenatchee, Wash., which manufactures packinghouse equipment, has acquired Agjet LLC., a data integration company focused on case handling, coding and traceability.
Compared with year-ago performance, organic fresh produce sales rose 18% in April and beat conventional produce in both dollars and volume gains.
This information, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, shows week-by-week shipments and f.o.b.s for commodities from shipments for the fresh market.
Neftali Garcia, representing the first generation in his family to attend college, was also a benefactor of the Washington Apple Education Foundation.
U.S. fresh oranges and tangerines showed the best year-over-year growth of any major fresh commodity in export sales in the year from May 2019 through April this year.
Registration is open for the U.S. Apple Association’s 2020 Crop Outlook and Marketing Conference, which will be presented online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of online events are scheduled around the continuing COVID-19 crises, designed to educate and in one case, to celebrate the end of a harvest in what has been very unorthodox circumstances.
The U.S. Apple Association is adding one-on-one virtual meetings leading up to Outlook 2020, its virtual show in August.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative’s Office has named five members to the U.S. Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables.
The Newcomerstown, Ohio-based Fruit Growers Marketing Association has partnered with Fremont, Ohio-based Great River Organics to launch a local organic line of vegetables.
Fresh produce industry associations have joined other agricultural groups in asking the USDA to extend the deadline for producers to receive direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
A new estimate projects that the 2020 Washington apple crop will be similar in size to last season.
With new crop harvest beginning and storage supplies dwindling, it is always a market-moving time for the apple crop in August.
The World Apple and Pear Association is forecasting Europe’s 2020 apple production to drop slightly from last season, but pears will see a double-digit increase.
The New York Apple Association, Fishers, has promoted Cailin Kowalewski to account promotion manager.
FirstFruits Marketing, Yakima, Wash., is starting its eighth season of shipping Sweetie, an apple variety that has been referred to as “gala’s sweeter, crunchier cousin.”
Apples buyers looking for variety options can find plenty of choices in Michigan this season, says Diane Smith, executive director of the Lansing-based Michigan Apple Committee.
With COVID-19, more people are eating at home, and that means fresh apple marketers can take advantage of increased snacking trends.
Food and Drug Administration official Mark Moorman acknowledges that the “smarter” era of food safety has not yet arrived.
While consumer perception of safety might’ve led to more purchases of packaged produce over loose bulk in the first couple of months of the coronavirus pandemic, some say it’s the increase of online shopping.
Just before the fall crop kicks into high gear, the New York Apple Association has unveiled the redesign of its website, applesfromny.com, with fresh content including new photos and video.