Fruit Industry Snapshot

Tree Fruit

• US Apple puts New York’s apple crop at 22.9 million bushels, 19% below the 5-year average. Washington state’s crop was 139.5 million bushels, 4 million greater than last year, but still slightly below the 5-year average. Most states are estimating a crop slightly below the 5-year average, with the exception of Michigan, which came in nearly 20% above their 5-year average harvest.

Wine/Craft Beverage

• 2023 wine sales were reported to be somewhat lackluster, below the stellar 2020 and 2021 figures. However, this is more of a “return to baseline” after the COVID surge, rather than a downturn from longer-term trends.

Cranberries

• Last winter/ early spring was a tough frost season, followed by an excessively wet period during bloom. However, overall production, at 2 million barrels, came in just slightly below the 5-year average in Massachusetts. Pricing is stable to down slightly from last year.