More than half of U.S. apples are used for juice

September 20 - The USDA is reporting on apple consumption in the United States. The latest survey finds 34% of apples grown in the United States are eaten fresh; 2% are dried, 9% are canned, and 52% are used to make apple juice.

Over the last 10 years, per-person apple availability reached a high of 49.2 pounds per person in 2016. Much of the decrease since 2016 was because of declining availability of fresh apples. In 2016, fresh apple availability was 19.3 pounds per person.

The top five apple varieties include:

• Gala — 46 million bushels.

• Red delicious — 31 million bushels.

• Honeycrisp — 28 million bushels.

• Other varieties — 25 million bushels.

• Fiji — 25 million bushels.