In the 1990s apple exports were dominated by Royal Gala and Braeburn – two varieties that were developed in New Zealand. Braeburn came from a chance seedling in Nelson and was introduced to the market in 1970. Royal Gala, which is a red mutation of Gala, developed from a private selection programme and was introduced in 1973. These two, along with other new varieties, dominated growth in export earnings while older varieties such as Granny Smith and Red Delicious declined.