New York State apple growers are expected to see exponential growth of Koru apples over the coming years, complementing the significantly larger supply coming in from New Zealand. 

New York Apple Sales vice president of marketing Jim Allen

The Braeburn-Fuji cross was discovered some years ago in New Zealand and has since been planted in numerous locations around the country, with exports carried out by Hawke’s Bay-based Fern Ridge Fresh.

Production there last year was registered at around 160,000 metric tons (MT) and is expected to more than double to 380,000MT by 2021, according to a representative of New York Apple Sales, one of Fern Ridge's U.S. partners.

"We import the Koru in February, March and April and sell it as an imported New Zealand apple from that time period right up until September," vice president of marketing Jim Allen told Fresh Fruit Portal at last week's Amsterdam Produce Show, where he had come to promote the apple in the relatively new market.

"At the same time, we have the rights to grow Koru and we work with a group of growers in the U.S. called Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative."

The apple is described by Fern Ridge as having "a complex aromatic honey flavor and slight acidity." It is a naturally large sized apple with an orange-red color on a yellow background.

Production in New York state is still quite limited, with around 600 bins expected to be produced for the 2017-18 season, but Allen said there had been lots of new plantings and volumes are expected to ramp up over the coming years.

"We anticipate to be in pretty good numbers in the next three or four years," he said, adding there was a higher level of production in Washington State, the leading U.S. apple-growing region. 

He pointed out that one of the main challenges when growing a new variety is achieving sufficient volumes to be able to supply major retailers.

According to Allen there has been "very good acceptance" on the New Zealand Koru.

"It hits at a good time, in April, when this would be a fresh picked apple. So our plan is to put some of our Koru in cold storage, bring them out about a month before the New Zealand fruit hits so we can segway right into the new season," he said.

"Presently 88% of what New Zealand grows goes into the United States and then they also export to Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany and Netherlands."

Allen also explained that a key goal was to have a year-round supply of the apple, which he believed could be achieved in around five years' time.

www.freshfruitportal.com