Sub Cnt() correctly returns 16.
Sub Cnt1() either Msgbox line returns 0

Option Explicit

Sub Cnt()
MsgBox Evaluate("SUMIF(D2:D7,""Apple"",E2:E7)")
End Sub

Sub Cnt1()
Dim i As Variant
i = Range("F1").Value
'MsgBox Evaluate("SUMIF(D2:D7,""i"",E2:E7)")
MsgBox Evaluate("SUMIF(D2:D7,i,E2:E7)")
End Sub

Thanks,
Regards,
Howard