WENATCHEE — Perhaps bolstered by the adage about “an apple a day,” the state shipped a record 3.874 million boxes of apples March 16-20.
“There was strong demand as supermarkets were trying to keep shelves stocked,” said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. “A lot of people were stocking up and had plans to stay in, so they purchased a lot of apples in a short time. We are still seeing elevated demand this week.”
He expects that might continue as people adjust to staying home more and eating out less, one of the results of the worldwide COVID-19 shutdown.
“There is a shift in consumption patterns,” he said. “They’re eating more from the grocery store.”
The spurt in demand at this time of year is one bright spot for the industry that already was facing concerns with tariffs and labor.
The industry also is dealing with adjusting to new coronavirus-related changes.
“It’s a challenge in the industry to figure out how to adjust to meet the guidelines of social distancing and interpersonal contact, to keep the workforce as safe as possible,” DeVaney said. Changing that quickly is outside the norm.
“We’re used to rule changes that include a lengthy process, with a comment period that lasts several months before it’s eventually adopted. Now, we receive an order; and then later, they explain how to do it. It’s creating a struggle to keep up,” he said. “Everyone is trying to do right by the employees and the community, while still making sure people have food.”
The issues that were creating concern pre-COVID-19 are still in play, including ongoing trade disputes and retaliatory tariffs and labor shortages.
“Before all this occurred, we were in a strong labor market, with low unemployment. A lot of workers had moved into other industries and agriculture was seeing a shortage of domestic labor. That resulted in an increased H2A guestworker visa program,” he said.
The status of those visas is unclear at the moment.
“They have to travel here. We heard reports of delays at the border and travel restrictions,” he said, though federal and government agencies recognize the workers are still needed and agriculture is critical. Even if all goes well, adding the extra safety precautions of social distancing will add time to the process.
One of the questions DeVaney is hearing is whether those jobs could be filled with people currently out of work.
It probably won’t work that way, he said.
“For the most part, people are on sick leave, self-quarantining, or are expecting to go back to their other jobs. We’re not seeing an uptick in those looking to work in agriculture,” he said.
