For nearly seven decades the Evans name has been synonymous with Washington’s famed Red Delicious apple, and while Reds continue to be the cornerstone of Evans Fruit Co.’s large export program, there is increased production of high-colored varietals like the Gale Gala and Aztec Fuji.

Suzanne Wolter, who joined Evans Fruit in Cowiche, WA, as marketing director in August 2017, said the philosophy pertaining to varietals is much the same as that pertaining to Reds.

“Our focus is not on being the first to market but rather on planting each variety where it’s going to be best with color,” she said in late December.

“We’ve intentionally chosen high-color strains like the Gale and Aztec. We were one of the first to plant the Gale Gala strain over 20 years ago, so although it’s not a new variety, it maybe be novel in that most of ours are that strain now.”

Evans also grows Pink Lady and Cosmic Crisp apples, looking ahead to 2021 or ’22 for commercial production with the new bare root trees going in during 2018.

She said that this year’s crop, much of which came in with smaller sizing, was a good fit in the company’s export program. “Smaller sizes work very well for our export customers,” she said. “And we do have larger fruit — just not a lot of it,” she added.

Wolter explained the appeal of Reds in the export market, saying, “Reds have been the number one variety in exports for a long time, and one reason is that the variety holds up better than any other during international shipping. That’s a big advantage when sending apples to a foreign country where the cold chain might be interrupted and transportation challenged.”

Another plus for the Red Delicious is that is “one apple that a consumer can look at and know what variety it is.”

Evans runs Reds year-round, and while the variety continues to hold center court for exports, Wolter said, “We’re seeing the international markets starting to look at volumes of Gala, and how we have customers asking for multi-load shipments. Gale Galas fit nicely with their high color.”

The varietals, which come off later because they’re planted at higher elevations than some other companies’ trees, are being noticed for their color and are also seeing good distribution both to export markets and here at home.

Evans has three packing facilities, including a new pre-size facility.

“We just completed a three-year process of upgrading the flumes and improving efficiency,” Wolter said. “What used to handle one bin can now handle 2.5 bins.”

She added, “We also installed new internal sorting equipment that gives a more thorough and accurate internal defect reading. So we have the cleaning and drying process prior to the internal sorting.”

With fruit going worldwide — the Pacific Rim, Middle East and Central/South America are significant markets —Evans is looking at India and China for growth.

Wolter said, “This year we have more demand than we can handle out of there, but it has a lot to do with the European crop being down.”