More apples will be coming from Ontario this season. "We're estimating a little over 10 percent above our five-year average in volume," says Brian Rideout, the chair of the Ontario Apple Growers.
The greater volume of apples is because there are a lot of young apple plantings in the province that are ramping up with production. "The quality and color of these apples is also up and growers this year had to make some harsh decisions and are probably trying to do more with what they've got than ever before," says Rideout.
After all, it's been a unique growing season for apples in Ontario. While some regions have had numerous rains throughout the growing period, others run irrigation. "That is all leading to a very interesting crop year," adds Rideout, meaning while some growers may be dealing more with insect pressure, others might be contending with disease pressure instead.
Harvesting has begun on early varieties of apples–about four to seven days ahead of the average harvest start in the province.
"Last year's crop was about 0.5 percent over normal and this year we're slightly above that again," says Rideout.
Varietal notes
On varieties, it's an "on" year for Honeycrisp in Ontario as well as Gala and Ambrosia apples, the latter of which is gaining popularity with consumers.
As for demand for Ontario apples? "Our marketplace should be able to handle what we grow here in Ontario. The problem will be the impact of other jurisdictions sending fruit here and who the retail and wholesale buyers ultimately decide to buy their apples from," commented Rideout. "If demand is what it normally is, we're more than well positioned to supply our crop. Our consumers would have Ontario apples at least 10-11 months of the year."
While it was anticipated earlier in the year that pricing might strengthen on apples, that didn't happen. "Our pricing in 2023 was harsh. The competition on imports was so fierce–I couldn't believe how fierce it was, and it made for a scary year," he says. "Input costs didn't go down, the price of labor didn't go down but what we got paid for the crop went way down." Meanwhile, consumers felt the pinch on grocery pricing this year and were more drawn to pricing-driven apples.
"In all, the current market conditions raise concerns about the long-term sustainability and growers' ability to adapt moving forward."
For more information:
Kelly Ciceran
Ontario Apple Growers
Tel: +1 (905) 688-0990
[email protected]
www.onapples.com