Apples grown in Washington state are displayed for sale at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Elaine Thompson | AP

'Big impacts' from food fight

Turkey also targeted U.S. walnuts last month and certain other products with new duties due to the administration's imported steel tariffs. Turkey ranks as the number 2 export market for California walnuts after the EU, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture. Almonds and walnuts represented about $5 billion in export value for California in 2017. More than half of the pistachios and almonds grown in the U.S. are sold to overseas customers. Australia competes with the U.S. for export sales in almonds, while Iran has been getting more aggressive as an exporter of pistachios. "The big impacts are going to be on West Coast producers and especially in August, September and October," said Joel Nelsen, a farmer and president of the California Citrus Mutual, a citrus producers trade group. "That's several hundred million dollars of nuts. That's almost $200 million of citrus. And then you got some wine grape guys that are going to start feeling the pinch too." What's more, Nelsen isn't hopeful the trade spat will be resolved anytime soon and suggests there is a role for the federal government to play to encourage consumption of American fresh fruit and vegetables both domestically and abroad. "Stimulating demand might absorb some of this product that is not going to get into China," he said. "Apples are getting hit from all directions," said BJ Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission, a growers organization representing Northwest stone fruits such as cherries. Thurlby said U.S. cherries are now subject to a 50 percent import tax in China and it's resulted in "extreme price pressure downward."

Slice out of India's apple market

Assuming India's tariff gets implemented, American apples also will face a substantially higher tariff than competitors, which could lead to European growers taking a slice out of the market. "There will definitely be a shift and consumers will look for substitutes or other alternatives," Tarun Arora, director of IG International, one of India's largest fresh fruit importers, told CNBC in an email response to a query. "The Indian consumer is very price sensitive and trade will shift in favor of European apples largely affecting overall U.S. apples supply programs in India." According to Arora, Indian importers brought in about 8 million cartons of Washington apples this season, a banner year in terms of volume shipped. But he predicts once the tariff goes into effect, volumes could slow by 60 percent or more. Then again, some U.S. executives suggest fresh fruit producers will cut prices and sell at break-even levels in some cases just to maintain market share. This should end up hurting West Coast producers more since the going labor costs on the U.S. West Coast tend to run higher than some East Coast markets.

$1 billion export market