The market for Granny Smith is unique among apple varieties, but price premiums over other cultivars could be under threat once more, warns the latest issue of the World Apple Report.
The report recognises that the variety is still holding on to its share of the market and is faring well on price compared to other stalwarts, but it does have drawbacks.
"The market for Granny Smith may be unique, but it has real limitations in terms of the volume it can absorb," the report, published by Washington-based Belrose, found. "Price premiums over the average variety are again in jeopardy as they were a decade ago." This is largely because volumes in the US are close to market saturation levels.
The report suggests that growers and exporters need to manage the crop with more understanding of what it means to have a niche market. Tighter standards and marketing discipline will also help the variety weather the difficult times forecast and total returns could be enhanced by greater sendings to processing, for example.
The full report is available on subscription from belrose@pullman.com
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