During the 2018-19 season, almost 28% of Washington state apples were shipped to 60 different countries. Industry officials expect exports for the 2020-21 crop to be below that figure and possiblye to drop to levels not seen in nearly two decades.
At the end of March, the state had exported 18.8 million 40-pound boxes of apples, down 20.5% from this time last year and down 16.4% compared to the 2018-19 shipping season, according to figures from the Washington Apple Commission.
The percentage of the 2020 crop making up exports is expected to drop to below 25%. That would be the lowest since the 2003-04 crop season when it was at 21.7%