(WWJ) - The price of apple cider, pies, doughnuts and more could be increasing at some Metro Detroit cider mills as they try to keep up with the cost of harvesting and delivering apples, merchants say.
Despite a bountiful harvest over the 2021 season, local cider mills told The Detroit News that high gas prices and the cost of labor have left merchants no choice but to pass those price increases on to their products.
"Our expenses are way up." Dennis Ashton, owner of Ashton Orchards in Ortonville, told The Detroit News. "... We have to pay a lot more to hire people."
Ashton explained that while apple harvest hasn't changed too much for his orchard, "where we're really getting hit with price increases is in the bakery," he said. "The price of doughnut mix is way up, and margarine and sugar, everything is way up."
Production and packaging costs have also increased, affecting the price of Aston's cider.
"The price of jugs, for one thing, has gone up." Ashton said. "I mean, cider is not just the juice; it's the help to put it together and the cost of the label."
Last year saw a 17% decrease in apple crop after a cold spell, The Detroit News said, driving up costs in 2021. According to the Michigan Apple Committee, the 2022 harvest is expected to yield over 29.5 million bushels.
"Ideal weather conditions in spring and summer, dedicated growers, and stored energy from 2021’s smaller crop has resulted in a large, high-quality apple crop for Michigan,” said Diane Smith, executive director of the MAC said in press release.
Michigan ranks third in the nation for apple production, behind Washington state and New York
The increase for this year is significant -- MAC said the average annual crop size is approximately 24 million bushels. Michigan yielded 15.6 million bushels of apples in 2021, the USDA estimated.
Jim Goldstein, owner of Hy's Cider Mill and Orchard in Bruce Township told The Detroit News that this year's crop is "exceptional" due to last year's smaller harvest.
He explained that lower amounts of apples on the trees meant trees could use more energy on buds.
"No energy is going into the apples; most of the energy's going to go into producing fruit buds," Goldstein said. "That's why you see wild apple trees have a lot of apples on them one year and typically not many at all the next year."
Goldstein said his orchard's cider may fall from what they were charging last year to around $10 a gallon, but the higher cost of farming chemicals and equipment are still reflected in the price.
Nancy Steinhauer, owner of the Dexter Cider Mill, said to The Detroit News that gas prices have had the biggest impact on her business as they transport apples from local orchards to their mill for production.
"This year, even though there's an abundant amount of apples, the price is still high because of the transportation costs," she said.
Steinhauer said she did not increase prices at their cider mill this year -- a gallon of cider is staying at $9.
"There's enough going on in this world. If we can give a little bit of happiness with a relatively inexpensive family outing, then that makes us happy," Steinhauer said.