A shortage of processing apples has resulted in increased imports of Chinese apple juice concentrate into the United States. Tight supplies were reflected in sharp increases in domestic prices for processing apples. In mid-November, prices for juice apples in Washington State for 2007 orchard-run and off-line fruit were $140 to $160 per ton, while peeler apples were $150 to $180 per ton, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Apple Processing Report. Michigan processing apples were $7.50 to $8 per hundredweight. Citing a shortage of juice apples in crop years 2006 and 2007, grower-owned cooperative Tree Top, Inc., headquartered in […]