Apple harvest threatened after heavy snow blankets Aomori

And now we all can expect, already "expensive" apples to go up even more. I really have a hard time paying 400 yen or more, for just one apple.

The quality of apples here hasn't been great the last few years here. Hope the farmers recover.

And now we all can expect, already "expensive" apples to go up even more.

Beat me to it bro.

This is just another way for the government to say that apple prices are going to up even more. I already pay just under 200 yen for one apple.

Aomori is used to snow, so this is exceptional. That's if its not obvious from the guy saying "we've lost fifty year old trees".

We're in Nagano and our garden has been very heavily damaged. We've lost tree that were over fifteen years old and eight or nine meters high. You can't tie up something that big.

aerial distribution of snow-melting agents

more chemicals in the system

Those chemicals will leech into the ground and then into the apples..

Just another excuse to keep on raising prices.

Apples are not worth it anymore. You can rarely find 200 yen a piece.

fwiw, I think Aomori is home to one of Japan's most famous organic farmers, the guy that wrote the "kiseki no ringo" book, an occhan with a very photogenic big gap-toothed smile. I think he started doing the usual spray your apples 10 times in a full Hazmat suit thing (i.e., standard Japanese apple production) but gave up when his wife had a reaction to the pesticides. He covered his orchard floor with organic mulch and found that he could still get trees to thrive

I can't remember the guy's name, but I hope his trees are okay..

more chemicals in the system

Those chemicals will leech into the ground and then into the apples..

What chemicals are these that you worry so much about them? There are harmless, non-reactive agents that are used for this purpose and would not affect the apples, powdered shells or charcoal-based, it should be natural to think this is the kind that is used in cases like this.

I await the story about apples being stolen (‘scrumped’) from orchards

fwiw, I think Aomori is home to one of Japan's most famous organic farmers, the guy that wrote the "kiseki no ringo" book, an occhan with a very photogenic big gap-toothed smile. I think he started doing the usual spray your apples 10 times in a full Hazmat suit thing (i.e., standard Japanese apple production) but gave up when his wife had a reaction to the pesticides. He covered his orchard floor with organic mulch and found that he could still get trees to thrive

Kimura Akinori is from HIrosaki, Aomori.

奇跡のリンゴ―「絶対不可能」を覆した農家 木村秋則の記録 (幻冬舎文庫)

great, more excuses for Japanese companies to rip off consumers and artificially inflate prices even more....

Yoshimoto Kudo, 85, who cultivates around 150 trees at his 4,000-square-meter orchard, said many branches were broken, and the trunks of some trees as old as 50 to 60 years even snapped.

85 and still working that hard...

He must eat an apple a day!

The New Zealand varieties - Jazz, Royal Gala - are excellent and widely available in Tokyo.

Japan you could import to help the consumers and keep prices down. But no, you want to charge your consumers to be a protectionist economy.

Yoshimoto Kudo, 85, who cultivates around 150 trees at his 4,000-square-meter orchard

85 and still getting after it. Good for him.

We like to eat one or two apples per week but not if expensive.

I love apples. Used to eat one or two a day. I still do try to enjoy one every day at lunch, but it often depends on the quality vs. the price at the store. I might have to learn to enjoy something else come next year if the apples become anymore expensive.

The New Zealand varieties - Jazz, Royal Gala - are excellent and widely available in Tokyo.

They sure are. I've really enjoyed trying several new kinds of apples from New Zealand. Had one called "Dazzle" this year that was spectacular!

Our Aomori friends send deep snow photos from their house. Unable to get out for three days.

Aomori has a lot of snow, but this past New Years it was so wet and heavy, that is why there was so much damage. Soon after it turned cold and froze to the branches and the weight snapped them.

I like apples, but now that strawberries and grapes are cheap where I live, I'm not so worried about them getting more expensive.

I wonder what variety the apple are, is it a common variety or are they one of the varieties that are not so common, if it's one of the latter variants may be we should go out of our way to collect some cutting off the tree and preserve them, also these apple trees are getting on a bit now has he replanted with new ones over the years? If these trees have been badly damaged it might shock them, so potentially quite a lot will surcome to disease, infection, and rot. As for deicing chemicals, I wouldn't recommend anything like that, you don't want to alter the pH or alkaline of the soil, especially if it's salt based, trees and salt don't mix.

Same bag of Amori apples I buy once a week from exact same store, exactly twice as expensive as 1 year ago. But hey, inflation's only 2 or 3% because the Govt. says so!

Apple farmers pick their apples in the fall BEFORE the winter, then store their apples in cold storage, which must be cheap in Amori. Apples don't grow in the winter, this article makes no sense, no impact on Amori apple production, all orchards shut down in the winter etc.

More Govt. media 'inflation' gas-lighting, reality is the Japanese Govt. has turned off producer pricing subsidies so farmers must now charge market rates.

Above only for those interested in actual truth FYI!

The apples were harvested in the autumn, but the snow damaged the apple trees, so the 2025 harvest could be smaller. Authorities estimate that $10 billion in losses will result.

I have attempted to cultivate apple varieties in a polytunnel, much to the amusement of my farming neighbours without success.

Most fruits but not apples.

Easier to walk to the supermarket and buy them.

But no, you want to charge your consumers to be a protectionist economy.

Spoken like someone who doesn't know anything about Japanese agriculture. Well done, what's your name.

Apples don't grow in the winter, this article makes no sense, no impact on Amori apple production, all orchards shut down in the winter etc.

More Govt. media 'inflation' gas-lighting, reality is the Japanese Govt. has turned off producer pricing subsidies so farmers must now charge market rates.

Above only for those interested in actual truth

Let's just call this obtuse.

Same bag of Amori apples I buy once a week from exact same store, exactly twice as expensive as 1 year ago. But hey, inflation's only 2 or 3% because the Govt. says so!

Whatever

I wonder what variety the apple are, is it a common variety or are they one of the varieties that are not so common,

Mate, it doesn't matter. The damage to Aomori's apple growers is massive

SNOW does not damage Apple trees, extreme cold does! FYI, most apple trees varieties just FINE until about negative 22 or 23 Celsius, around minus 10 Fahrenheit.

Actually, SNOW protects apple trees from COLD and Amori has NOT had extreme cold weather this winter.

Facts are facts.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, even for those elderly with lousy health, cancer survivors etc. Consider it an investment in your health, even if its lousy today.

Health is wealth, you are what you eat, so NEVER listen to unhealthy, as clearly, they're not too smart and/or disciplined!

Apple inflation is REAL because Govt. grower subsidies have been stopped, and Apple trees LIKE Snow, keep them warm!

Where is this global warming when we need it?