Not another Weiner story: this time it’s homegrown apples
A Wall Street Journal story that the US Department of Agriculture found residues of 48 different pesticides in a recent sampling of apples bruises the reputation (and possibly sales) of America’s second most popular fruit.
Unlike the top choice, bananas, most apples consumed in the US are grown in the US. Imported apples accounted for 7.5% of the total consumed in 2008-09, according to USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) data. [See more USDA ERS statistics on US apples here.]
This is the time of year (June into July) when US apple imports hit their peak as the fresh domestic crop in cold storage runs low (the residual fungicides found in the USDA samples are there because much of the fruit is stored for months before being sent to market).
Here’s an opportunity for purveyors of fresh organic apples to reach new consumers. While domestic orchards may not be ready to harvest, organic apples from top exporters to the US (ranked in order) Chile, New Zealand and Argentina are shipping now.
Datamyne bill of lading data yields the details of top shippers from these countries (each having a recognized organic certification program in place) as well as state-side consignees. Here are the top Chilean shippers:
(By the way, you can get a quick run-down on the latest shipments of fresh organic apples, or any commodity, with Datamyne’s new iPhone app.)