Tweeters,

First thing (well, not first thing) this New Years morning Ellen and I
noticed thousands of European Starlings swarming about a Fuji apple orchard
several miles east of our home in Wapato. Specifically, this orchard is
along the Yakima Valley Highway, reached by leaving I-82 at Exit 44, going
north 1/3 mile to the old highway, then driving east a quarter mile. These
birds were feasting on apples frozen hard in the cold snap of late October
and early November. For four or five days, morning temperatures were in the
single digits (4 degrees F one morning). All unpicked apples froze solid. On
thawing, fruit from the coldest sites turned into juice bags, unfit even for
juice concentrate, let alone processing, or the "fresh market." This
particular orchard is now hosting thousands of birds. Besides starlings, we
noted one Lewis's Woodpecker, five or so Northern Flickers, 10 Yellow-rumped
Warblers, and substantial numbers of American Robins, Dark-eyed Juncos, and
House Finches.

This freeze reduced the Washington Fuji crop by more than a quarter (in
round numbers from from an August estimate of 12,000,000 cartons to about
8,500,000). Simple economics would predict a rise in the price of Fujis. But
this has not happened. Why? Several factors have conspired to have kept the
market from rising. One is the consolidation in recent years in the number
of retailers. A larger chunk of the buying power is in the hands of fewer
chainstore buyers. This has tended to exert a downward pressure on the price
of apples (and other products). Another factor has been the closed
Taiwan market, a major buyer of Fujis. In November, Taiwan inspectors found
live codling moth in a shipment of Fujis from Wenatchee, a major no-no, as
Taiwan still doesn't have this pest and intends to keep it out. Taiwan shut
off all imports of apples from the United States for more than a month. The
result has been a stable Fuji market. Even though that market is now open
again, the Taiwan press made this codling moth big news, continuing to
depress demand. During the month-long closure, Taiwan began purchasing huge
supplies of Korean and Chinese Fujis, apparently inferior, but much cheaper.
Thus, American and Canadian consumers, and lots of birds, are now benefiting
from this major insult on the Fuji apple market.

So, go enjoy those Fujis!

Cheers,

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net