Specifically the crop in the western states of the US is likely to be three per cent down on last season, although three per cent up on the five-year average, while Washington state - the union’s largest producer - is expected to harvest 133.3m bushels, just three per cent down on last year but five per cent above the five-year average.
Nation-wide the percentage production of Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith are all expected to increase while Red Delicious and Golden Delicious should decrease. For the first time Gala becomes the US’s second-most produced variety behind Red Delicious with a forecast volume of more than 28m bushels - just under half the 60m forecast for the red favourite. Golden Delicious therefore slips into third place with some 27.6m bushels expected followed a little way behind by Granny Smith, then Fuji and McIntosh which is also declining in volume, while eight-placed Empire is expected to show a resurgence in volume up by 34 per cent and a five-year high to 5.79m bushels.
“Based on a US 2006 crop forecast of 229 million bushels, USApple expects apple exports from the 2006 crop to decrease slightly to 33 million bushels,” the US apple trade association said in a statement. “This would be 7.5 percent less than the 35.7 million bushels exported in 2005. A decrease in exports is expected due to lighter fresh-apple supplies from Washington state compared to the 2005 crop.”
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