Apple Industry. Key Facts 2009

(a) World

• Apples are the third most widely produced fruit in the world after bananas, and grapes and just ahead of oranges.
• Apple production in recent years neared 68 million metric tons, enough to provide each person in the world with about 22.5 lbs of apples.
• World production of apples is now about 2.8 times what it was in 1960. It rose almost 20 percent between 1998 and 2008.
• Apples are produced in many countries with a temperate climate. Newer varieties have permitted expansion of production into ever-hotter areas.
• China is the largest apple producing country in the world. It now consistently produces over 40 percent of the world total.
• China's apple production increased fourfold in the 1990s. The rate of growth has slowed since 2000, but year to year swings can exceed 4 million metric tons.
• The traditional center of commercial apple production was continental Europe. Europeans brought commercial apple-growing to many other parts of the world.
• The United States is a distant second to China in apple production. France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Russia remain among the top ten apple producers.
• Turkey, Iran and India are also major apple producers. However, most of their production is absorbed by their own rapidly-growing populations.
• Major Southern Hemisphere apple producing countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.
• About ten percent of world apple production enters international fresh apple trade. Only a handful of countries engage in long-distance exporting.
• The leading fresh apple exporting countries are China, France, the United States, Chile, Italy, New Zealand and South Africa.
• A number of these countries also produce large volumes of concentrated apple juice for export.
• The major import markets for fresh apples and concentrated apple juice include Russia and the developed countries of Europe, North America and Asia.
• Developing country markets such as Mexico, India and Indonesia offer great long-term potential.

(b) United States

• Production of apples in the United States expanded rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. It peaked at 5.3 million metric tons (277.3 million 42-lb units) in 1998-99.
• Depressed returns since 1998 have led to widespread reductions in acreage. As a result, the 2008 crop is estimated at about 4.2 million metric tons (about 220 million 42-lb units), 20 percent below the 1998 peak.
• While apples are produced in commercial quantities in 35 of the 50 states, the top five states consistently account for 85 percent of all production.
• Washington State is the largest apple producing state, consistently accounting for about 55 percent of the U.S. total.
• Washington State and the New England region consistently market 70% or more of their production fresh, compared to 50% or less in all other states. Washington State normally accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. fresh apple supplies.
• The next four producing states are New York, Michigan, California and Pennsylvania. Production in all but New York has declined in the last decade.
• The United States is one of the few apple-producing countries where orchard blocks are grown specifically for processing uses. About one third of all U.S. apples are processed.
• In 2008, the main processing uses of apples was for juice (51%), and canning or freezing (35%). The share processed as fresh slices had risen to 3.3%.
• Per capita consumption of fresh apples in the U.S. averaged about 19 lbs for much of the 1990s, about 16 lbs in 2001-2003, and 17.4 lbs in 2004-2007.
• Per capita consumption of apple juice has been rising slowly during the same period. However, all of that increase has been due to increased imports of concentrated apple juice.
• The major suppliers of concentrated apple juice to the U.S. in recent years have been China (the market leader), Argentina, Chile, and Germany.
• Both imports and exports of fresh apples have been rising slowly over time.
• The U.S. currently imports about 6 percent of its fresh apple supplies, mostly from Chile and New Zealand, to meet off-season needs.
• The U.S. is a major net exporter of fresh apples, currently exporting about 25 percent of fresh supplies. The main destinations are Mexico, Canada, East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the United Kingdom.

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