Every year the New York Apple Association is asked for a report on crop conditions. Jim Allen, president of NYAA, told The Produce News that, given some occasional glitches, the crop tends to stay pretty much the same year after year, but this year and last came with some of those glitches.

“We’ve been growing apples in the Northeast’s cold climates since the first apple tree was planted centuries ago,” said Allen. “During that time our trees have tolerated extremely cold temperatures — in the sub- and sub-zero range.

“We’ve had some extremely cold temperatures the past couple of years that caused some bud damage,” he continued. “We anticipated a stronger repeat bloom, but it didn’t happen. Less bloom and less pollination combined take their toll. Fortunately the result is that the state’s crop is only a few percentages smaller than average.”

Allen explained that apple growers are a resilient bunch, and that’s good because it’s been a challenging marketing year. Washington state had a large apple crop last year, and political issues in the European Union added to the problem of marketing the U.S. crop.

“The E.U.’s minimal residue level restriction is problematic,” said Allen. “Add that to the Russian embargo, and the pot gets all mixed up. Poland is the largest apple exporting country in Europe, and its number one export customer was Russia. With the embargo in place, Poland had to find a new place to sell their apples, which strongly affected the U.S. export market.”

The domestic markets, he pointed out, suffered with over-production in the past year, and processing markets are stagnant. Combined, these factors mean a lower market.

The exception to the processing dilemma is cold-pressed ciders, for which the demand continues to grow.

“New York has a new apple cider licensing law that is tied directly into the use of state-grown apples,” said Allen. “The products are in every venue; retailers, foodservice operations and even smaller markets.”

The new New York apple cider website, www.nycider.com, shows consumers where they can find local apple cider across the state.

Other good news is that data shows that apple consumption is increasing per capita. Much of this is due to consumer education on the nutritional benefits of apples, and also because of some new and exciting varieties on the market.

“These new varieties are drawing a lot of attention,” said Allen. “The data, however, doesn’t show the entire apple consumption picture. Think about all of those backyard apple trees that are feeding families, friends and neighbors. That doesn’t get counted in the data.”

New York growers are right on time with their harvest dates this year. Allen said that some early varieties, like Ginger Gold and Paula Reds began in early August.

“From here we’re full speed ahead,” he said. “We’ll be picking McIntosh apples in early September and then all of our other varieties. Weather allowing, we’ll be harvesting through October and possibly into November.”

Despite challenges New York growers face, Allen assures everyone that only the best quality apples reach consumers.

“With the help of our promotional initiatives, such as social media, nutritional materials, recipes and much more that is aimed directly at consumers, we’re spreading the world,” he said.

“We encourage retailers to take advantage of our retailer toolbox,” he continued. “We know apples and can offer a full range of programs to help retailers maximize their apple category sales. We support retailers with ‘Apple Country’ displays, feature ads, volume incentive programs and impactful point-of-sale materials. Give us a call and let’s talk apples.”