Granny Smith Apples: US vs. South African Grown

[jiHymas]

During the summer my local supermarket carried Granny Smith apples from South Africa, but the current offerings are grown in the USA.

I don’t like the American ones nearly as much: they are smaller and more cubical; the juice isn’t as tart; and I find the flesh of the apple itself to be rather hard and tasteless.

I have often seen critiques of modern agriculture decrying tomatoes, which have been bred to be more cubical and tougher for efficiency in shipping, with taste running a distant second - is it the same story with Granny Smith apples? Are there different varieties grown in South Africa and the US, or is the difference entirely due to climate and other factors? Is there a chance that the taste of the American applies will improve over the next little while?

[Squink]

Granny Smith, that, Australian progeny of a discarded french crabapple is grown worldwide. The orchards and growing conditions make a big difference in taste texture. Storage and shipping are also big issues (The Granny Smith Apple Page).
It appears that South African Granny Smith Orchards are on the decline:

On top of that, Gunn realised that the orchards on his newly acquired farm were old, and produced varieties such as Granny Smith and Golden Delicious — varieties that the export market no longer paid a good price for. Those who had been in the business a long time and had planted modern varieties such as Pink Lady, Fuji and Royal Gala, survived the hard times more easily.

So prepare for more mediocre fruit.