The Washington apple industry was exporting a significant percentage of its crop, long before the Washington Apple Commission was formed. In 1930, seven million boxes, or 25 percent of the crop, were sold overseas. Until the 1970s, most exports went to Europe and were not considered profitable. Overseas markets were a safety valve that would accept small sizes that were not wanted on the domestic market, former commission manager Joe Brownlow recalled in a 1987 interview. As the Europeans developed their own fruit-growing industries after the Second World War or imported from nearby countries, U.S. exports plummeted. In the 1970s, […]