Of the approximate 76 million bushels of USA fresh apples remaining to be shipped from storages, over 72 million bushels are in Washington state, 11 percent more than last year at the same time.
The total as of February 1st was also 13 percent higher than the five-year average.
Volumes of the five biggest apple varieties were up from last year. Those varieties are red delicious, fujis, galas; golden delicious and granny smiths.
By region, 73 million bushels had yet to be shipped from the Northwest as of Feb. 1. About 72.3 million bushesls of those are in Washington.
About 2.4 million bushels in the Northeast, 240,000 bushels in the Southeast and 70,000 bushels in the Midwest/Southwest were still in storage.
Apple shipments from Michigan this season have been virtually non existent due to a freeze last spring. Cold weather also adversely affected apple shipments in New York state.
The vast majority of the Washington’s apples are being shipped from storages in the Yakima Wenatchee valleys. There are about 3200 truckload equivalents of apples being shipped weekly. There’s also a significant amount of pears coming from the same area.
There’s also potatoes and onions being loaded out of Washington’s Columbia Basin and the adjoining Umatilla Basin in Oregon.
Washington apples – grossing around $3800 to Chicago and $6000 to New York City.