Market for Washington Apples Reviving : Agriculture: Growers anticipate a rosy year as sales increase while the fruit sells at higher prices than previously.

After three years of singing the blues, Washington apple growers are taking their red and yellow fruit and moving into the black.

The 1990 Washington crop--70% of the nation’s supermarket apples--is heading to market with high prices and less competition from other states.

Consumers can also expect to find smaller-sized apples because of cool growing conditions in the spring.

Growers were battered the last three seasons by weather damage, the Alar scare and wholesale prices below the cost of production.

“We’re at a point this season where we can return profitability to orchards for the first time in probably three years,” said Keith Mathews of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers, an industry group.

Wholesale prices for Red Delicious apples, the nation’s most popular variety, are nearly double what they were at this time last year, according to the federal-state Market News Service in Yakima.

Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples are also selling much higher than last year.

The top grade of Red Delicious is wholesaling for $17 to $18 per 42-pound box, compared with $8 to $10 a year ago. Goldens and Granny Smiths bring about the same.

Early season sales of the new crop hit record levels, with 5.2 million boxes shipped by Sept. 27, compared with 4.3 million by the same date last year.

Washington’s share of the fresh-apple market is growing, from 50% to 60% a few years ago to about 70% now.

That’s because ideal conditions in Eastern Washington for growing red apples have gradually pushed growers in other states out of the fresh-apple market, Mathews said. Those growers are switching to new varieties or having their apples processed into juice or other products.

Also, orchards in states such as California are being ripped out for real estate development, he said.

Loss of the chemical Alar after last year’s scare has not reduced the quality of the crop, Mathews said.

Alar was a growth regulator that kept red apples on the tree longer.