WELLINGTON: Springtime is one of active promotion for Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers. “Cherries takes up a lot of energies and efforts in the spring and summer,” said National Marketing Representative Dan Wohlford. “However, we have a couple of apple varieties that we are pretty excited about. For the second year in a row now, Oneonta Starr Ranch is importing Honeycrisp from New Zealand.
We have a partnership with a big grower there that brings us some very good Honeycrisp apples at a time when they are non-existent domestically. These are new crop and demand is huge. We are already close to sold out. They arrive in early May and are done in June, so it’s a short window. But it extends the season a little longer for us.”
Oneonta22The company continues another partnership with a New Zealand grower to import the Koru apple during the spring. The apples are resorted and packed in Washington.
“Apricots will also begin in late June and early July,” Wohlford continued. “Our apricots from Washington are always a summer treat that sell well because of the great color and clean appearance and sweetness of the fruit. Then late in the summer, around the end of August, our peaches and nectarines start up. They are high sugar and truly tree ripened for the best flavor and juiciness.”
Oneonta’s current supplies of domestically produced apples and pears are cleaning up. Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Red Delicious will be among the last varieties moved from the 2014-15 crop.
Wohlford provided some comments about retail trends during the spring/summer months. “Cherries, apricots and other stone fruits take center stage at this time,” he said. “However, apples and pears can still be strong contributors to the overall department. While stone fruit, grapes [and] watermelon may be what is featured, consumers still want apples and pears in salads and just to have for a snack. The regular retails on apples and pears will help buoy a department’s profits.”
