Apple
Washington apple producers expect to see a decline in reds but huge growth in newer varieties in future.
Assessing the state’s varietal mix at Prognosfruit in Italy this week, Washington Apple Commission’s Todd Fryhofer said that production declines had been noted in Red Delicious, McIntosh, Idared and Golden Delicious – that latter which he described as “the number-one variety being taken out of plating today.”
Fuji and Granny Smith production is flat, while Gala is on the rise, but the real growth areas are Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink.
Fryhofer predicted that “soaring” Honeycrisp production would see it become the state’s number-three apple.
Interestingly, many growers are switching to organic production when replanting with new varieties, with organic production in Washington set to almost double and rise from 9 million boxes to 15m this year.
“The US apple industry is going through a renaissance, with growers putting in newer, better-tasting varieties,” Fryhofer said.
Shippers, who have had to deal with a tough year in which a record crop coincided with the Russian ban and a six-month port strike that Fryhofer said cost $100m, are also looking for new markets on crops where there is an overdependence on a single customer.
Some 77 per cent of the state’s Fuji exports go to Taiwan, while 79 per cent of Goldens are sold to Mexico. “We need to diversify or we could end up with some problems,” he stressed.
There is also a plan to increase Red Delicious exports from 48 per cent currently to 65 per cent, and to almost double Gala exports from the current 8.8m bushels to 15m in the next five years.
This will all happen at a time of consolidation in the Washington top-fruit sector, with Fryhofer predicting that smaller growers or those who do not invest in orchards, infrastructure or the correct varietal mix will drop out in the coming years.
The mixture will join the likes of Italy’s mozzarella cheese and Belgian lambic beer in appearing on the TSG list.
Bramley apple pie filling has officially been awarded protected status by the European Commission.
The mixture will join the likes of Italy’s mozzarella cheese and Belgian lambic beer in appearing on the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) list.
The commission defined the filling as a blend of fresh Bramley apple pieces, sugar and water, with the option of Bramley apple puree, cornflour and lemon juice.
The list seeks to protect the reputation of regional products, promote traditional and agricultural activity, and ensure inferior products cannot be promoted unfairly.
English Apples and Pears made the application eight years ago.
It believes the TSG status will help keep apple pie standards high.
Judges unable to split Waitrose and Sainsbury’s as 21st Bramley apple awards celebrate industry excellence
To a retailer, sharing a stage with a competitor is usually the ultimate no-no.
But it was all smiles at the Brammy Awards yesterday as representatives of Sainsbury’s and Waitrose posed for photos after becoming the first joint-winners of the Best Bramley Retailer of the Year gong.
The 21st Brammy Awards was held at Quo Vadis in London, having skipped a year due to the poor crop in 2013. Judges said they were unable to split the two retailers, with Sainsbury’s having shown widespread support for Bramley within its Eat Well For Less campaign, recipe development with Jack Monroe and social media activity, while Waitrose impressed with its dedication to promoting the versatility and cooking qualities of the fruit.
Best Manufacturer of a Savoury Bramley Product was Darlington & Daughters for Mrs Darlington’s Autumn Fruit Chutney, while Tesco Apple Pie by Kensey Foods won the Sweet Bramley Product category.
Best Bramley Apple Sauce went to Cottage Delight, while Chegworth Valley got the nod for best Bramley Apple Drink.
Mr Kipling was named Best Catering/Foodservice Company, and in the individual categories The Times’s Lindsey Bareham won Best Bramley Food Writer and Tom Kerridge was Best Media Chef.
Adrian Barlow, chairman of the Bramley Apple Campaign, said: “The awards present the industry with an opportunity to recognise retailers, manufacturers, catering companies, journalists and chefs who are championing the iconic Bramley apple. The winners have shown outstanding support for Bramley apples over the past year through the quality and breadth of products they have developed, the innovative promotional activities they have undertaken, and their highlighting of Bramley in the media. I am delighted that we have this opportunity to celebrate their achievements.”
The US Pacific Northwest is on course for a record apple harvest, however, a labour shortage could see apples left unpicked
The US Pacific Northwest is shaping up for a record apple harvest, with an estimated 140m boxes over the 2014/15 season, well above the previous record of 128.8m in 2012, reports Capital Press.
“This fall’s crop will be ginormous,” general manager of apple packer-marketer Double Diamond Fruit’s Mike Robinson told Capital Press. “The weather has been absolutely favourable. No frost. Huge bloom. New blocks everywhere. The only thing constraining availability of crop will be availability of people to pick it.”
Dan Fazio, director of the Washington Farm Labor Association, shares Robinson’s concerns and predicts a 10 per cent labour shortage in the region.
“The shortage figure is very concerning given industry projections of a record-setting apple crop and the risk that there will not be sufficient workers to harvest it,” Fazio said in a news release.
Other issues dampening predictions of a record harvest are constrained export markets – China is still closed to US apple shipments and there are fears US sanctions on Russia could result in reciprocal sanctions on US produce.
The Northwest’s top apple export markets are Mexico, Canada and Taiwan, with about one-third of apples exports annually, according to the Northwest Horticultural Council.
New Zealand fruit export and logistics corporation set to release new and existing shares to investors by mid-July
Scales Corp, the fruit and vegetables logistics group which owns New Zealand’s largest apple exporter Mr Apple, has announced it is considering listing on the New Zealand stock exchange.
In a statement, the group said it would publish a prospectus by mid-June and that shares were expected to appear on the exchange’s main board by the middle of July.
New shares will be issued by the company while its majority shareholder, the private equity firm Direct Capital, which owns 84 per cent of Scales through its Direct Capital IV and Pohutukawa II funds, will sell down some of its shareholding alongside co-investors ACC and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
Scales recently posted an annual profit of NZ$20.4m for 2013, 50 per cent up on the previous year’s result, buoyed by strong prices for Mr Apple’s apple exports on the back of increased demand in Asia.
The group also owns and operates airfreight service Balance Cargo, ocean freight service provider Scales Logistics, coldstorage operators Polarcold Stores and Whakatu Coldstores and fruit juice concentrate business Pro Fruit.