For buyers comparing Granny Smith apple suppliers, the deciding question is how long the fruit stays green, firm and clean-skinned once it has left the store. Hatipoğlu Tarım is a fresh produce supplier based in Antalya, exporting since 2002, and it offers Granny Smith from September until early summer. The guide below follows the questions an importer, wholesaler or retail buyer asks before placing a first order.
The green apple ordered for shelf life
The Granny Smith has a dark green skin, a high acid balance and a tight, firm texture. It is the variety buyers choose when shelf life comes first in the order, and under suitable storage conditions it keeps its texture for a long time. If you are looking for a green apple supplier in Turkey, those three traits – colour, acidity, firmness – are the ones to put in your specification.
Supply calendar: September to early summer
Granny Smith is available from September and supply continues from store until early summer; our calendar for the variety runs to June. Fruit is cooled and packed on the day of harvest.
The yellow and red apples in our range share that calendar. Buyers who want all three colours from one source can read the guides to Golden Delicious and Starking.
What to specify: colour, firmness, size, skin
We select Granny Smith by colour, firmness, size and skin integrity, and only evenly green fruit goes into the export lot. The published research adds detail that is useful when you write a specification:
- Colour: according to data published by UC Davis, quality in this variety means a dark green skin free of blush and free of sunburn, which shows as a yellow or brown patch.
- Internal quality: the same source cites soluble solids of 12% or more and titratable acidity of 0.75% or less.
- Firmness: firm fruit throughout the carton.
- Size and skin: one size range per order; no cuts, punctures or bruises.
Storage scald and bitter pit: two disorders to know
Two skin disorders decide how a green apple looks after months in store. UC Davis describes Granny Smith as very susceptible to storage scald, especially when the fruit was grown in a hot, dry climate and harvested early. Controlled atmosphere and low ethylene reduce scald, according to the same data.
The variety is also rated very susceptible to bitter pit, which appears most often on large fruit from young, vigorous trees. For a buyer this is a reason to be precise about the size range in the order.
Temperature and atmosphere in the published data
The optimum given by UC Davis is 0.5 °C ± 0.5 °C at 90–95% relative humidity, and the freezing point is −1.5 °C. Some reports note that 0 °C can cause chilling injury in certain seasons. A controlled atmosphere of 1.5% oxygen and 1.0% carbon dioxide is cited as successful: it retains firmness and acidity.
Ethylene can speed up senescence and softening in this variety. That matters in transit as much as in store; see our article on the cold chain in fresh produce export.
Packing, pallet plan and HS code
Granny Smith is prepared in 30 × 50 × 22 cm cartons, packed to the shipment plan. The cartons go onto euro pallets of 80 × 120 cm, and 33 of those pallets fill a standard 13.60 m refrigerated truck. Carton footprints are compared in packaging and case sizes in export.
Pears and quinces are carried close to 0 °C as well, so they can share a truck with apples. All three give off ethylene, and for that reason a load with leafy vegetables, cucumbers or other ethylene-sensitive produce is not recommended. Greenhouse vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines travel at around 10 °C and cannot share the apple temperature.
The six-digit HS code for apples is 0808.10; your customs broker should confirm the full tariff line before the shipment leaves.
Documents a buyer can ask for
Hatipoğlu Tarım is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and ISO 10002, and holds GLOBALG.A.P. IFA and GRASP. Every lot going to Europe is analysed for residues. For the legal background see EU pesticide MRLs, and for a wider checklist our guide to Turkish fruit and vegetable suppliers.
How to import Granny Smith apples: six steps
All six steps sit with one company. As an apple exporter in Turkey we harvest, cool the fruit on the day of harvest, grade it by colour and size, pack it in cartons, hold it in cold storage and dispatch it by refrigerated truck.
Granny Smith apple wholesale: what we need for a quotation
For Granny Smith apple wholesale and retail programmes alike, six details make a quotation possible: variety, size, packaging, weekly volume, delivery week and destination country. Our phone number is +90 242 339 55 25, the WhatsApp line is +90 534 260 07 25, and the address for written enquiries is info@hatipoglutarim.com.
Hatipoğlu Tarım has exported fresh fruit and vegetables from Antalya since 2002. Under the FİNİKE brand it ships 128 product lines to 42 countries, with harvest, grading, cold storage and dispatch handled in house across five facilities in Serik, Kepez, Mavikent, Yenişehir and Alaşehir.
Tell us the size range and the weeks you need covered through our contact page, and we will answer with availability and a quotation for Granny Smith.
