Apple and pear production continues to ramp up

 

 

China is expected to dominate world markets in 2009 by producing 28.5 million tons of apples, said Desmond O’Rourke, Publisher, World Apple Report.

 

Put into context, that’s seven times what the country produced in 1990. The United States is expected to produce 5 million tons and Canada is pegged at 500,000 tons.

“Canada’s output has been shrinking in the last decade despite movement to newer apple varieties such as Fuji, Pink Lady and Braeburn,” said O’Rourke. “The hot desert climates of British Columbia’s Okanagan can handle these varieties. In other climates, Honeycrisp has taken off.”

In a recent talk to the Okanagan Kootenay Cherry Growers Association, O’Rourke said that sweet cherry plantings have increased worldwide, partly in response to the poor markets for apples. “World cherry plantings are expected to be up by a third by 2015,” said O’Rourke.

 

Turkey and Chile have been expanding with exports to Europe, the key “sink” for this tender fruit. Research is paying off with newer cherry varieties that produce earlier and later in the season. What used to be a six-week season can now reliably be extended to three months, and O’Rourke predicts four months will become the norm with newer rootstocks and better orchard management. For packers who are already in the field with apples and pears year-round, the high-value cherry season is easy to accommodate.

 

“For Ontario growers, they will have to compete with U.S. shipments three months per year, starting with California and then Washington fruit,” said O’Rourke. “And soon British Columbia growers will be looking to supply and extend the tail end of the season.”