The 2023 crop develops in a Yakima Valley Honeycrisp orchard in early August. The Washington apple industry estimates growers will harvest 134 million boxes for the fresh market this year. (Leah Crawford/Good Fruit Grower)
The 2023 crop develops in a Yakima Valley Honeycrisp orchard in early August. The Washington apple industry estimates growers will harvest 134 million boxes for the fresh market this year. (Leah Crawford/Good Fruit Grower)

Washington apple growers expect a fresh crop of roughly 134 million boxes, if the preseason estimate holds.

“It’s projected to be one of our largest apple harvests,” said Tim Kovis of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, which released its annual crop projection Aug. 7. 

The harvest volume, measured in 40-pound box equivalents, would be about 5 percent above the previous six-year average, Kovis said.

The record was 142 million in 2014, Kovis said.

The variety makeup in Washington, the nation’s largest apple producer, continues to diversify with the 2023 crop. If projections hold, Gala would account for about 20 percent of the harvest, Honeycrisp 15, Granny Smith 14, Red Delicious 13 and Fuji 12. Cosmic Crisp, Washington State University’s proprietary variety, would come in at 6 percent. Now in fourth place, Red Delicious has fallen from the state’s No. 2 spot last year. 

Each year, the tree fruit association relies on a survey of more than 50 packing companies to make the estimate, which focuses on fresh production and excludes apples sent for processing. The figure routinely shifts some as the season progresses, due to changing weather and market conditions.

—by Ross Courtney