Core Facts

• About 2,500 known varieties of apples are grown in the United States. More than 7,500 are grown worldwide.

• Nearly 100 varieties are grown commercially in the United States, but a total of 15 popular varieties account for almost 90 percent of 2006 production:
  
  1. Red Delicious
  2. Gala
  3. Golden Delicious
  4. Granny Smith
  5. Fuji
  6. McIntosh
  7. Rome
  8. Empire
  9. York
  10. Jonathan
  11. Idared
  12. Cortland
  13. Stayman
  14. Newtown
  15. Northern Spy

  Up-and-coming "new" varieties include Braeburn, Cameo, Fuji, Gala, Ginger Gold, HoneyCrisp and Pink Lady.

• Apples are grown in every state in the continental United States, and are grown commercially in 36 states. Top-producing states include Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.

• The 2006 apple crop was forecasted on Aug. 11, 2006 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be 229 million 42-pound cartons. USApple's 2006 crop forecast, issued Aug. 18, 2006, was 221.2 million cartons.

• Total apple production in 2005 was 234.9 million cartons, valued at farm-gate at $1.9 billion.

• The largest U.S. apple crop on record, of 277.3 million cartons, was harvested in 1998.

• An estimated 7,500 U.S. apple growers managed orchards covering 379,000 acres in 2005, trailing only oranges and grapes in the amount of U.S. acreage committed to fruit production.

  

• In 2005, the average U.S. consumer ate an estimated 16.9 pounds of fresh-market apples, and 29.2 pounds of processed apples, for a total of 46.1 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products. In 2004, average per-capita consumption was 50.6 pounds of apples and apple products.

• Sixty-three percent of the 2005 U.S. apple crop was eaten as fresh fruit, while 36 percent was processed into apple products, and 1 percent was not marketed. Of the 36 percent of the crop that was processed, 18.6 percent was used in juice and cider; 2 percent was dried; 2.5 percent was frozen; 12.2 percent was canned and 0.7 percent was fresh slices. Other uses include the making of baby food, apple butter or jelly, and vinegar.

• U.S. apple growers received an average of 27.6 cents per pound for fresh-market apples from the 2005 crop, up from 21.8 cents per pound in 2004.

• The United States was the world's second-largest producer of apples in 2005, behind the People's Republic of China. Turkey, Poland, and Italy rounded out the world's top five apple producing countries in 2005.

• Exports of fresh-market apples from the 2005 crop totaled an estimated 35.7 million bushels, or 24 percent of the total U.S. fresh-market crop. Imports in that same year totaled an estimated 8.2 million bushels, resulting in a positive balance of fresh-apple trade.

• Exports of U.S. apples have increased over the past decade, due to liberalization of export markets, increased disposable income in developing countries, and substantial industry export promotion efforts. Leading markets for U.S. apples include Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, India, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.