October 19 2007, 09:42

Apple harvest in USA to decline 7% comparing to 2006; the demand for apples will increase

According to the recent USDA estimations, apple harvest in USA will amount to 4.2 mln. tons; it will be 7% lower than past year. Around 58% of all apples or 2.45 mln. tons will be harvested in one area - Washington State. The harvest will decline 4% there comparing to the previous year.

Despite of the production decline, the experts evaluate the quality of apples as high, so that the producers may hope for a higher price level. The threat of labor problems has not been confirmed - the harvesting is performed quite smoothly.

The specialists think that the prices for apples will be higher again this year than in 2006. In 2006 the average price for 1 kilo of apples, got by farmers, increased 29%. According to the experts' estimations, the price reached $0.49/kg. The prices have increased as large as 66% during two years. So the producers sold apples on fresh market and generated around 2 billion dollars. The prices for commercial apple in the USA increased 17% up to $0.12/ kg in 2006.

At the same time, the interest of market players is focused on USDA estimations regarding the demand for apples. According to the latest information, the demand for these fruits continues increasing despite of the price growth which has achieved the record level in the history. Moreover, the price growth for bananas is able to contribute to this trend. The demand for apples increased 10.1% up to 22.2 keg per capita.

The increased demand for apple on freshmarket affects the production of apple juice, puree and concentrate. The decreased volumes of apples is supplied for processing, so that the revenues of producers are increased. At the same time, the price growth for apples will lead to the increased volumes of imports of both fresh apples and apple concentrate.

The analysts of CIS produce business periodical "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" weekly estimate the consumption of fresh apples in Ukraine on the level of 11 kg per capita. And, Ukrainian farmers get much higher price for the produced apples than their American colleagues.

We'd like to remind that the details of the situation on world market of apples and apple concentrate, and also the perspectives of these markets in Ukraine will be presented by the leading experts of this industry during the fourth international conference "Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2007. Meeting New Leader", to be held on December 4th-6th 2007 on the territory of the National Complex "Expocenter of Ukraine" in Kyiv. To participate in the event, you can fill in the online registration form.