As the state’s apple growers

strategize to overcome international tariffs, they’re also looking ahead to

introduce to the world a highly-anticipated variety — the Cosmic Crisp.

The

end of the 20 percent tariffs on apples shipped to Mexico in mid-May was welcome

news to the state’s apple industry, which saw overall exports down 32.7 percent

over the previous season. But more retaliatory tariffs loom.

“We

are facing tariff situations in our top apple markets,” said Toni Adams,

spokeswoman for the Washington Apple Commission. This includes Mexico, where

more Washington apples are sent than any other country worldwide.

Mexico

leveled a 20 percent tariff on Washington apple imports in June 2018 in

response to a 25 percent tariff placed on steel and aluminum products brought

into the U.S. from Mexico. It amounted to a hefty blow, as Mexico averaged a

demand of 13 million boxes of fresh Washington apples annually in recent years.

Apple

exports still face a 50 percent tariff in China, and India is threatening 25

percent tariffs.

The

potential for new import taxes on apples also sent to Canada is something Adams

called “intimidating.” The country is the second-largest importer of

Washington’s fresh apples, and considered an extension of the domestic market

due to its proximity. Our neighbor to the north is Washington’s largest export

destination for organic apples.

As

demand increases, growers in the state produced about 16 percent more organic

apples than the previous year.

As

the industry depends on international trade, a dozen people around the world

are focused on marketing Washington apples. With 2019’s projected apple crop

forecast to come in 12 percent lower than last year’s and recent exports to

Mexico down 29 percent, the industry has cause for concern.

“We’re

not sure if the reason is just crop volume or because of the tariffs,” Adams

said.

Knowing

that retaliatory tariffs are being placed on apples following U.S. actions

against other countries, the federal government handed out money to groups like

the Washington Apple Commission to help promote the fruit.

The

commission received $8.4 million from a total of $200 million in available

grants.

This

was part of an Agricultural Trade Promotion program from the U.S. Department of

Agriculture designed to mitigate harm to the industry. The money is considered

a one-time, non-renewable allocation.

Adams

said the grant program is “pretty rigid” on how the money can be spent, as it

was approved based on the market it’s intended for and also by individual

activity. The commission will use some through a market facilitation program

that includes direct payments to farmers and also a buyback program to give

apples to schools.

In

growing markets, the commission will use the grant to increase consumer

advertising, with a goal of building on the reputation of U.S. products being

“healthy and safe,” especially to customers in southeast Asia.

The

grant money will be distributed to the commission in 2019 and spending is

expected to be spread out over two years.

One

of its uses will be to market the highly-anticipated Cosmic Crisp apple

variety, which is set to be released in fall 2019.

It

is a new variety of apple created and patented through Washington State

University’s apple breeding program.

The

apples will be harvested in late September and early October but won’t arrive

at stores until Dec. 1.

“Cosmic

Crisp tastes better when it sits for a while,” said Kathryn Grandy, spokeswoman

for the company hired to promote the new apple. “It’s harvested at one starch

level and then shipped at another starch level.”

Grandy

said the current target date is considered “conservative,” and it’s possible

the apple could ship sooner once it’s re-evaluated after harvest. “We want to

make sure it’s the best it can be,” she said.

The

apple is described as “remarkably crisp, sweet, sharp, tangy and unbelievably

juicy.” It is a cross between the Enterprise and Honeycrisp varieties and

promised not to brown easily.

The projection for available boxes of Cosmic Crisps is

500,000 in the first year, Grandy said. Adams expected most of those apples to

be gobbled up by domestic demand before another two million boxes are expected

to go on the market the following year for apples harvested in fall 2020, with

a whopping 17 million boxes grown in five years’ time.

As

a means of extending the apple’s dominance right from the start, Grandy said

it’s “far more than just major retailers who have been sent samples” to build immediate

interest in the fruit.

Part

of the federal grant money awarded to the apple commission also will be used for

sampling Cosmic Crisp in the Canadian market, where it’s expected to take off

by spring 2020.

Adams

said the process to develop the new variety has been “unprecedented,” so the

actual volume and demand are unknown factors. Washington growers have the

exclusive license for the first 10 years.

Despite

the growing excitement for a new apple, the Red Delicious variety still reigns

supreme for global apple demand.

“It’s

definitely an export-heavy variety as part of many gifting traditions,” Adams

said. “Red Delicious are always going to be a popular variety that people rely

on for its shape and color.”

India,

in particular, is a big importer of the variety. Of the eight million

Washington apples shipped to India last year, seven million were Red Delicious.

As the state’s top apple, Red Delicious accounted for a quarter of the state’s

total apple shipment in the 2017-18 growing season, followed by Gala apples at

23 percent. This amounts to about 1.3 billion pounds of Red Delicious apples,

filling 33 million boxes.

This

season’s entire crop is projected at 118 million boxes, with about 40 pounds to

a single box. The crop is down slightly from the previous season’s 133 million

boxes. About 1,300 growers in Washington are responsible for 3 percent of apple

production across the globe.

Adams credits the “ideal environment” found in Washington

for the success of its apple industry, citing a dry, arid climate that keeps

pests down, combined with nutrient-rich soil, a strong water supply and

“progressive” growers.

Two

out of every three apples produced in America are grown in Washington. While

about a third of the fresh apples grown in the state are shipped out of the

country, this still accounts for about 90 percent of all U.S. apple exports.

Adams calls international trade a “crucial” component of the success of the industry,

with worldwide distribution helping to stabilize the domestic supply and

demand.

Still,

there remains a marketplace described as “highly competitive,” and Adams

emphasized the continued mission of the apple commission to market the fruit,

despite the trade threats, as a vital key to its continued success.