New York apple growers have always kept Hunts Point Terminal Market and other state distributors well-supplied with apples, and this year is no different.

Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, said that in turn, many New York apple growers rely on companies located on Hunts Point Terminal Market to sell their apples.

“New York apple growers and shippers have been sending apples to the Big Apple for centuries, literally,” stressed Allen. “In the days of barges moving down the Hudson River, to rail loads and eventually by truck, we have always supplied New York City with our apples. Over the years many strong and deep-rooted relationships have been formed between grower-shippers and wholesalers at the Hunts Point market.”

He added that many time-tested New York apple brands are visible on the docks of the market, and over the years these brands have established a loyal clientele that demands them.

“Relationships of this kind happen only through establishing trust and providing loyal service to both the suppliers and customers,” said Allen. “Hunts Point is a massive commerce center which helps to feed the huge populations of the Metro New York region.

“Our apples can be to Hunts Point in hours, not days, and they do not have to travel across 3,000 miles of bumpy interstates,” he continued.

“Today, Metro New York is a thriving and growing market for millenniums who want to connect with their food and be assured that they are buying local, buying safe and feeling good about their purchases. Working together, New York growers and Hunts Point wholesalers can satisfy this growing trend.”

The NYAA does everything possible to promote its high-quality New York grown apples. It is deeply rooted in buy local and homegrown programs, including farm markets, community markets and green markets in New York City.

“We partner with numerous retailers to help them to promote New York-grown apples by providing in-store signage and display tools to identify the apples as being produced in our state,” said Allen.

On April 4, Allen said there were six-inches of fresh snow on the ground in Fishers, keeping the new season of apples a mystery. Overall it’s been a highly unusual winter in the region.

“We don’t anticipate damage from this brief snow dusting,” he said. “Our market is generally influenced by the Pacific Northwest apple inventories, and based on reported lower than normal supplies, the opening new season apple market should be strong for us.”

New York apple shippers are GAP and Global GAP certified, and will be in compliance with all new Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, rules.

As a staunch proponent of New York State, apples produced there and Hunts Point Terminal Market, Allen added that New York City and its merchants need to step up and address a failing distribution infrastructure and inadequate facilities that now serve the Metro New York region with fresh produce.

“In order to ensure safe food, including produce, to protect the health of consumers and to meet the new FSMA guidelines, the current Hunts Point Terminal Market needs many improvements,” he stressed.

“We are also working with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office to help introduce the New York Certified program that will focus on the quality and safety of New York State grown and produced food products,” Allen continued. “The program is designed to communicate to consumers that New York farmers practice some of the most stringent good agricultural practices in the country to ensure the highest degree of food safety while producing fresh produce in a sustainable environment.”