Home » Travel » Washington State » Apples, Delicious Apples

Apples, Delicious Apples

© Jerri Brooker

"My apple tree will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours."
Robert Frost

Apple stories have been told since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve, Johnny Appleseed - you know the stories. But I have some Washington apple tales, statistics, actually, that I consider fine, indeed.

Eastern Washington, where most of our state's apples are grown, has warehouse storage for 181 million boxes of fruit. 181 million! And 67 percent of that space is controlled atmostphere, called "CA" by the industry, a process that slows ripening. See the bins of apples after picking.

As I bite my Fuji apple I am astounded by that figure. I drive by apple storage places in my travels, but to think of the total collection of warehouse storage around the state just blows my mind. 181 million boxes of fruit? And a lot of them reside in the "Apple Capitol of the World, Wenatchee."

How many of you like and eat apples?

I do. Some of my favorites are Pink Lady, Braeburn, Fuji and Gala. I like Red Delicious when they are just picked, but they're not really my favorite. Delicious fresh apples were 48.5 percent of last year's crop, so somebody must be eating them.

I always tend to run outta the pack with my personal choices anyway, away from the big dogs - I'll take my idiosyncrasies any day. Or are are my choices that unique?

I don't think so. Let's look at some statistics.

The average price the grower gets for a Red Delicious apple - still the top apple in Washington State, is running $10.61 a box. The break-even point for Washington State growers is $13.23. The average price a grower gets for Fuji apples is $18.10 with a break-even price at $16.68. Some growers are mowing down their Delicious apple trees and putting in new crops.

Exporting isn't going so well - other countries can't afford to buy. The situation is so bad apple growers are eligible for direct subsidies from the government this month. Though the current statistics look good for Washington apple growers, they really aren't - the market is glutted and import/export laws are having an effect on the market price. My favorites were nearly a drop in the bucket of last year's crop, but they were at least a money-producer for the grower.

Later I'll give you a link so you may get more apple statistics and some apple recipes - they'll send 'em direct to your mailbox if you want. Then vote on your favorite apple, please. Hopefully growers can use the info to their advantage. Reality, though: you don't just plant a new tree and get a super yield right away, either.