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market counter.
• So far the U.S. Department of Agriculture said U.S. retail prices for Red Delicious apples rose 1 percent in September to $1.524 per pound, from $1.505 in September 2011.
• Generally, Washington apple farmers prefer selling their product to the fresh market, which brings higher returns.
• This year's bad harvests in New York and Michigan could mean that Washington farmers could sell more of their apples to the processed and juice industries, which buy apples that are not savory enough for the fresh fruit market. On an average year, Michigan may sell about 60 percent of its harvest to the juice industry, Smith said.
• Prices of the juice and processed market, however, are less than for the fresh market.
• "There will be more apples shipped from Washington to processing on the East Coast than we've ever seen before," Mayer said.
• The processed market can also look to Pennsylvania, which saw a healthy harvest, or Virginia to make up for the void left by New York and Michigan, Gedris said.
• If apples aren't picked for the fresh market, growers have the option of leaving the fruit on trees, selling it at lower fresh market prices, or the juice market. But those options have to at least cover the costs of picking the apples, Mayer said.
• About 20 percent of Washington's harvest usually goes to the juice and process markets, Mayer added. Of the fresh harvest, about a third is exported while the rest stays in the country.
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