Cartoon map of Washington. Apples not drawn to scale.
Washington apples feed the world. From August until June, this dietary staple ships from orchards in eastern Washington state via CFI refrigerated containers to India, Taiwan, Malaysia, and South America. Because a controlled atmosphere allows for longer-term storage of apples until they’re ready to ship weeks or months after they are picked but still in premium condition, apples are one of Washington’s largest export industries.
Though Washington is far from the only state to grow apples, the eastern portion of the state across the mountains from rainy Seattle allows for warm days and cool evenings with soil that is rich in mountain ash, creating excellent conditions for apple growers.
Each year CFI ships over three hundred containers of apples around the world. Our dedication to the precise conditions of these shipments enable us to deliver a product with little variance in quality regardless of the time of year. We can coordinate with shippers to maintain the temperature and conditions of each carton to meet the demanding specifications of each nation’s preferences.
Though there are more than 7,500 varieties of apples grown worldwide, Washington grows primarily Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink and Cameo. As there are more than 175,000 acres of apple orchards in Washington, CFI can coordinate with shippers to move a staggering variety of apples. Shippers using controlled atmosphere warehouses can pick and pack to combine different varieties in a single shipment offering an array of choices to buyers and foreign consumers.
What CFI is to perishable air freight knowledge, experience and buying power, Kuehne + Nagel is to sea freight. As a member of the Kuehne + Nagel family, we have much greater access to refrigerated knowledge, experience, equipment, space and purchasing power. We’re excited to see which new markets receive this hometown treat from our Seattle ocean freight team.
