YAKIMA — The 2014 apple crop came in 3 percent less than forecast but is still a record 150 million boxes, the Washington State Tree Fruit Association said in a report Tuesday on the harvest.
It easily surpassed the record of 129 million boxes set in 2012. The fresh fruit crop is measured in 40-pound boxes.
Packers have shipped 35 million boxes, leaving 115 million boxes in storage to supply the market into next year.
The final tally is shy of the forecast of 155 million boxes because of a November freeze and a port slowdown that prompted many packing companies to divert more fruit to processors for apple sauce or juice, said Jon DeVaney, president of the association.