Apple holdings and other top headlines

Waiting for the USDA AMS to restart the pilot program for apple slices, the apple industry could certainly use the help. Meanwhile, the U.S. Apple Association released the storage numbers for February 1, and the highlights are listed below.


From the U.S. Apple Association:

January movement of fresh and processing apples was 7 percent above the same month last year and 14.4 percent higher than the past five-year average in January.

U.S. fresh-market apple holdings of 74.8 million bushels on Feb. 1, 2009, reflect a 16 percent decrease from January and a 26 percent increase over February 2008.

The total number of apples in storage on Feb. 1 was 104 million bushels, 16 percent less than last month, 15 percent more than last February’s total and 10.6 percent higher than the five-year average of 94 million bushels.



TK: One market source in Washington said smaller sizes have tended lower over the past several weeks, with reds and golden delicious 125s trading at near $10-12 per carton. With a 110 million box fresh crop in Washington this year, shippers will concede lower prices on the smaller fruit but hope to hold on to profitability for larger fruit. Diversions to processing are fairly heavy.


Other headlines snatched from the Web this afternoon:

Consumer credit fall more than expected in December From AP
The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing dropped at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in December. The $6.6 billion decline was nearly double what analysts expected. It followed an $11 billion drop in November that was the biggest monthly plunge on records going back to 1943.

Obama vows to turn to housing crisis From LA Times
As Congress prepares to pass his economic rescue plan, President Barack Obama today promised to turn immediately to the housing crisis, saying he would soon offer more details on how to address "the root of our economic challenges."


Congress readies for final vote on stimulus package AP


Fresh food a must Calgary Herald