U.S. to Buy $15 Million Worth of Apples to Help Cut Surplus

The Department of Agriculture will purchase $15 million worth of apples to help reduce a huge surplus created when consumers stopped buying amid fears over use of the chemical Alar, the department said Friday.

The industry has estimated that 5 million to 7 million boxes of apples from last year’s crop, valued at between $40 million and $56 million, remain unsold.

The department said apple stocks were 53% greater on May 31 than the average for that date in the previous three years, and prices to growers had fallen by $3 to $4 per carton from what they were a year ago.

Top-grade red apples produced in Washington state were recently selling for between $7.50 and $8 per box, about $2 below the cost of production. The nation’s 20,000 apple growers have estimated losses at well over $100 million in sales.

Alar is used to enhance red color, to ease harvesting by delaying ripening so that most apples ripen together and to lengthen shelf and storage life. The chemical penetrates throughout the fruit tissue and, unlike many pesticides, cannot be washed off.

The Alar controversy began in late February when a private environmental advocacy group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, said apples treated with the chemical substantially increase the risk of cancer in children.

Even though EPA criticized the Natural Resources Defense Council report, the agency plans to ban use of Alar and the manufacturer has withdrawn it from the U.S. market.