Apple supply in New York state looks to be adequate. "For us in New York, it doesn't seem to have picked out as we thought it would. It's not a bumper crop but the quality and sizing are good for the most part," says Tim Mansfield with Sun Orchard Fruit Co. "It's in the good marketable range of sizes–not too big and not too small and demand has been good."
The reasons why the crop emerged to be slightly less than what was anticipated are undetermined. "Sometimes you get a crop which is more on the outside of the tree. It looks like a heavy crop but there are fewer apples on the inside of the canopy," says Mansfield. He also adds that there was a bit of frost in the spring during bloom that may have contributed to this as well.
As for the timing of the season, it was five to six days earlier than last year.
On varieties, the outlook is fairly similar to last year though Red Delicious supply seems to be down.
Shelf space key
Meanwhile, demand for New York apples is better than last year, particularly for the proprietary apple Pazazz that Sun Orchard Fruit packs. "There seems to be more of an emphasis with retailers promoting apples and being a little bit more aggressive with shelf space. That's key. Pricing is one thing but shelf space is even more of a factor," he says, adding that if the retailer goes on ad, there's not only a lower price but generally there's more shelf space for that particular item. "Historically that moves a lot of fruit whereas a retailer who goes on ad but doesn't open up the shelf space, there's a lot less lift from the lower pricing."
All of this is leaving pricing holding steady, though there seems to be a strengthening in Honeycrisp pricing due to less supply overall from all supplying regions.
Looking ahead, movement should be good this week ahead of Thanksgiving though the actual week of Thanksgiving is expected to be slow. Movement will likely pick up again as the Christmas holiday gets closer. "As shippers start to open up their controlled atmosphere rooms with Honeycrisp, that will push towards raising prices because there are more costs associated with fruit stored in CA," says Mansfield. "Even though it's the same price, the grower will get less because of that added cost."
For more information:
Tim Mansfield
Sun Orchard Fruit Co.
Tel: +1 (716) 778-8544
[email protected]
https://www.sunorchardapples.com