Stemilt Growers, Inc., in Wenatchee, Washington, already handles more than twice as many apples as the entire British Columbia, Canada, fruit industry. But company President West Mathison said further consolidation is needed in Washington State to bring profitability back into the apple business. Stemilt, which ships 11 million boxes of apples annually, has about a 12 percent market share. “The apple industry is going through a really tough transition,” Mathison told growers at the B.C. Horticultural Forum in Penticton this winter. “There is no clear market leader. We need to have consolidation. We have too many sellers trying to sell […]