Although on the whole, this year’s crop of apples are well-coloured and sized up well, market prices are down 17 per cent from last year at this time.

And, last year was not one of the better years in terms of prices, commented Adrian Abbott, of B.C. Tree Fruits, which markets most of the valley’s apple crop.

The main reason, he figures, is that there is a very large crop of apples throughout North America.

The forecast is for a crop that’s up four or five per cent over last year, he said. “That’s too many apples,” he said.

Adding to the volume, the crop in Washington State from last season, had still not all been sold by the beginning of sales of this year’s crop, so retail prices keep dropping.

“That really muddles the market,” Abbott said.

On the other hand, going into last season at this time, it was a fairly clean market, with no carry-over of fruit from the previous year, so prices started out higher, Abbott explained.

However, there was a high volume of fruit last year as well, and as the season went on, retail prices dropped lower and lower.

“It’s a tough start this year,” he said.

Some years, prices go up as the season’s fruit is sold, and other years they go down.

Only about 13 per cent of this year’s crop has been shipped so far, he said.

Jim Elliot, president of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative, admitted the industry is in survival mode.

“That’s what unification is all about,” he said. The four main packinghouses in the valley consolidated to for the OTFC last year.

Striving for quality is essential, he noted.

Growers have to balance cosmetic requirements such as size and colour against maturity and over-mature fruit doesn’t keep well in storage.

Prices for varieties like Gala, which used to get premium prices, have probably seen the greatest drop in recent years, but some of the newest varieties, like Honeycrisp and Ambrosia still get really good prices, said Abbott.

Generally, the first apples of the season tend to set market prices, and B.C. doesn’t produce the first of the crop since it’s north of California and Washington State.

Abbott didn’t know what the return to growers would be at this point.