State's fresh apples compete against old Washington fruit

By Ching Lee

Thanks to favorable growing conditions in the spring, California apple growers are expected to deliver a bigger crop with improved fruit quality this year.

Harvest of Gala apples—the earliest commercial variety to arrive in stores—has started in the Central Valley, with supplies hitting markets this week. Because California starts picking apples several weeks before Washington state—the nation’s leading producer—providing the first fresh apples of the year remains a key selling point. 

“As foreign imports start to drop off, last year’s fruit from the Pacific Northwest will remain the only competition for the start of the season,” said Todd Sanders, executive director of the California Apple Commission.

Unlike the Evergreen State, which keeps its apples in cold storage and sells them long after apple season is over, fruit from the Golden State is picked, packed and shipped, Sanders said, adding, “we are looking to capture the retailers and consumers that want fresh, not stored, apples.”  

Though California grows an array of apple varieties for specialty markets, U-picks and other uses, commercial growers focus on four main varieties: Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji and Cripps Pink, also marketed as Pink Lady. 

San Joaquin County grower Jeff Colombini described yields as “average or normal” compared to the smaller crop last year, when a long heat spell during the growing season wrecked fruit quality. With limited rain in April and a dry May this year, the crop finished with “very few blemishes,” he said. That means more fruit can be packed for the fresh market rather than diverted to processing.

California is expected to pack around 60 million pounds of apples for the fresh market in 2025, the apple commission estimated. That’s an increase from 49.1 million pounds in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state produced a total of 157 million pounds of apples last year, with 31% going to the fresh market and 68% used for processing, USDA reported. The rest went unsold.  

“Revenue certainly took a hit,” Colombini said, referring to the high percentage of fruit that went to processing last year. 

On top of that, Washington’s 2023 crop of more than 7.65 billion pounds was not depleted when California started shipping the 2024 crop, he noted. Having the year-old apples still on the market drove down prices.

“They were selling them at deep discounts to get them out of the icehouse, to make room for the upcoming 2024 crop,” Colombini said of Washington apples.

San Joaquin County grower Steve Chinchiolo said there used to be a wider window at the start of California’s apple season for growers to sell the new crop, as supplies from Washington had mostly cleared by then. But Washington’s larger crops in recent years have had “a challenging effect on our market,” he lamented, “and this year seems to be no different.”

Sizable volumes from Washington last year—at 7.48 billion pounds—means there’s still “quite a bit of fruit in the pipeline” as California growers enter the market with their 2025 crop, Chinchiolo said, and the same concern remains about how the older fruit will impact prices. 

Another concern weighing on growers is the potential impact of the Trump administration’s tariff policies. With 20% of the state crop exported—primarily to Mexico and Canada—potential retaliatory tariffs that other countries impose on U.S. agricultural products could hamper trade.

Such a fallout goes beyond California apple exports, Chinchiolo said. If Washington apple exports are curtailed due to retaliatory tariffs, more apples will end up in the domestic market, lowering prices, he added. 

“It’s a chain reaction,” Chinchiolo said.

Sanders said exports remain a priority for the California apple sector and that the commission is “monitoring the tariff situation closely.”

Mexico remains the largest export market for California apples, with a value of $6.4 million in 2023-24, the commission reported. Canada is No. 2, with a value of about $1 million. Though California has shipped apples to other countries in the past—including to Taiwan, Malaysia, Panama, Colombia and El Salvador—Mexico and Canada have been the only export destinations since 2021.

With larger crops coming from Washington and increased labor costs, Colombini said he hasn’t planted an apple orchard in more than 10 years because “we have better crop options in California.” Establishing a new apple orchard—with modern trellis systems, drip irrigation and overhead cooling—costs at least twice as much as any tree nut crop, he noted.  

California apple acreage stood at 9,389 in 2024, down slightly from 9,393 acres in 2023, according to the apple commission. 

Some farms have planted new acreage, including Stockton-based JJB Family Farms, which grows the new Modi variety on 360 acres in Grand Island just outside Walnut Grove. Developed in Italy, the red apple is named after painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani and is a cross between the Gala and Liberty varieties. 

Amy Snyder, the company’s sales and marketing director, described the Modi as “bright to deep red with bursts of yellow” but no blushing. 

“We’re certainly not going to be the sweetest apple on the dry table,” she said. “We’re not going to be the Honeycrisps and the SugarBees of the world. However, we will probably be the biggest surprise as it relates to sweet-tart balance, and then that crunch is just undeniable.”

JJB Family Farms, also an onion producer and packer, is the only farm in North America licensed to grow the Modi, which harvests in late August and ships from early September through February, Snyder said. This will mark the fifth year of the company bringing the apple to market. It’s sold in bulk, 3-pound containers and 2-pound bags. 

She said “pretty much all the major” regional and national retailers carry the apple, with the addition of Raley’s this year. The company also exports to Mexico, Canada and other countries. 

“As far as adoption is concerned, we’re almost to the household brand,” Snyder said. “We’re getting there.”

Ching Lee is editor of Ag Alert. She can be reached at clee@cfbf.com.