US Apple holdings - Februrary 1

From US Apple this afternoon....

March 1 holdings of fresh apples were at 62 million bushels, down 13 million bushels from February 1, according to the U.S. Apple Association (USApple) in a report released today. The fresh market holdings reflect a 30 percent increase over March 2008 holdings and 25 percent more than the five-year average. During the February to March period, movement of fresh apples was robust, exceeding prior year monthly movement by 11 percent and the five-year average fresh apple movement by 14 percent.

Processing apple holdings of 24 million bushels were 7 percent below year earlier levels and 11 percent below the five-year average for the March reporting period.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported prices received by growers for fresh apples fell to 24.2 cents per pound, three cents below the five-year average for the February-March period. Retail prices for Red Delicious apples as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics rose from $1.18 per pound to $1.23 per pound in February.

“Driven by delicious taste, abundant variety and real health benefits, consumer demand for apples nationwide continues to be robust across all market segments,” stated Mark Seetin, USApple’s director, regulatory and industry affairs.

Details are included the March 2009 edition of USApple’s Market News. Please click here to access: http://www.usapple.org/media/publications/marketnews/2009/march2009.pdf