This year, after more than half a century as America’s favorite, the Red Delicious apple will be surpassed by the Gala as the No. 1 apple grown in the United States, said the trade group USApple on Thursday. The production of Gala apples is surging, while Red Delicious production is ebbing. The overall apple harvest is forecast at 11.5 billion pounds this year, an increase of less than 1 percent from 2017.
Red Delicious would drop to No. 2 in production, followed by Granny Smith, Fuji, and Honeycrisp, which will relegate Golden Delicious to sixth place. The Gala apple, which originated in New Zealand in the 1930s, has grown in popularity among U.S. consumers for its taste, texture, and sweetness. Growers say it is relatively easy to grow and yields well. If current trends continue, Honeycrisp will move into third place within a year or two.
“The rise in production of newer varieties of apples aimed at the fresh-consumption domestic market has caused demand for Red Delicious to decline,” said Mark Seetin, USApple’s director of industry affairs. “However, Red Delicious is important in the export market, where it makes up roughly half of our apple exports.”