ipi4 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page p 



Markets for Canned and Dried Fruits and Other By-Products 



H. B. Miller, Director of School of Comiiiorce, before By-Products Division of Northwest Fruit Growers' Association, Portland, September 10, 1914 



BY-PRODUCTS, as taken up by 

 your committee, I take it signifies 

 canned fruits, vegetables, dried 

 fruits, jams, jellies and preserves. The 

 development of fruit canning in the 

 United States, according to the United 

 States reports, has been, in round num- 

 bers, from $11,000,000 in 1899 to $13,- 

 000,000 in 1909, only an increased valu- 

 ation of $2,000,000 in ten years. That 

 is not a very remarkable increase, nor 

 as great as one would have expected. 

 Without examining into the facts, I am 

 sure we would all have supposed that 

 the increase was far greater. We 

 would have expected, for instance, a 

 great development or increase in Cali- 

 fornia, but the fact is that the quantity 

 produced in California, in canned 

 fruits, in 1899 was valued at $7,340,000, 

 and Ihat produced in 1909 was valued 

 at $7,248,000, so Ihat in the great fruit- 

 growing State of California there has 

 been no great increase in the canning 

 of fruits within the last census period. 



I have not been able to secure any 

 reliable data regarding the increase in 

 production since the last census re- 

 turns. In the matter of exports, how- 

 ever, there has been such a remarkable 

 increase that it seems that there must 

 have been quite a considerable develop- 

 ment in the canning of fruits since 

 1909. The exports in that year amounted 

 to $2,6,50,000, while the exports in the 

 season of 1912-13 amounted to $,5,- 

 600,000, or considerably more than 

 double that in 1909-10. So I think we 

 may lake it that there has been a very 

 remarkable development in fruit can- 

 ning since the last census returns. 



The great bulk of the fruits canned 

 consists of peaches, apples, pears, apri- 

 cots, berries and cherries, the valua- 

 tion being according to this order, 

 peaches being more than double that 

 of anv other one product, amounting 

 to over $3,700,000 in 1909, cherries 

 the least of all, amounting to over 

 $1,000,000. Between the years 1899 and 

 1909 there is quite a marked increase 

 in the value of apples, pears, berries 

 and cherries canned, the greatest in- 

 crease being in cherries, and these 

 were mostly sour cherries for i)ie pur- 

 poses. In California alone, the in- 

 crease in canned fruits from 1900 to 

 1912 was from .*2,S00.0n0 to $4,800,000. 



The value of canned vegetables jjro- 

 duced in the United Slates in 1899 was 

 $28,700,000, while in 1909 it had groNvn 

 to .$51,600,000. The greatest increase 

 in this was in baked beans. The in- 

 crease in California in canned vege- 

 tables during this len-vear period was 

 $1,200,000. The increase in California 

 from 1900 to 1912 was from 800,000 

 cases to 2,800,000 cases. The qunnlily 

 of canned tomatoes packed in the 

 United Stales in lOO.'') was 6,500,000 

 ca.ses, in 1913 it was 14,200,000 cases, 

 or considerable more than double the 

 amount in 1905. Canned vegelables 

 exported in 1913 amounted to $1,- 

 500,000, slightly less than the amount 

 exported in 19i2. 



The value of dried fruits produced 

 in the United States was $4,700,000 in 

 1899 and $19,800,000 in 1909. Prunes 

 $970,000, raisins $1,000,000, apples $2,- 

 000,000, peaches $300,000, apricots 

 $455,000, other fruits $49,000, in 1899, 

 as against prunes $5,130,000, raisins 

 $5,000,000, apples $3,000,000, peaches 

 $2,500,000, apricots $2,277,000, other 

 fruits $2,000,000, in 1909. The total in- 

 crease in dried fruits from 1890 to 1909 

 was from $4,800,000 to $20,000,000. 



In California the production of cured 

 fruit has increased from 145,000 tons in 



1908 to 2.59,000 tons in 1912. The in- 

 crease was almost entirely in prunes, 

 raisins and peaches. In prunes alone 

 the amount produced in California in 

 1895 was 65,000 pounds and in 1912 

 205,000,000 pounds. 



Exports from the United States in 

 dried apples increased from 28,000,000 

 pounds in 1905-06 to 54,000,000 pounds 

 in 1911-12, prunes 10,000,000 pounds in 

 1900-01 to 118,000,000 pounds in 1912-13, 

 apricots 14,000,000 pounds in 1905-06 to 

 35,000.000 pounds in 1912-13, peaches 

 1,000,000 pounds in 1905-06 to 6,500,000 

 pounds in 1912-13. 



In California dried fruits amounted 

 to .$2,600,000 in 1899 and $16,000,000 in 

 1909. In Oregon, $14,000 in 1899 and 

 $173,000 in 1909. 



The production of pickles, preserves 

 and sauces in the United States was 

 .$36,000,000 in 1899 and $45,000,000 in 

 1909. 



Establishments for canning, preserv- 

 ing and drving fruits and vegetables 

 had, in 1899, an investment of $28,- 

 000,000, in 1909, $67,000,000. Wages 

 paid in 1899 amounted to $9,500,000, in 



1909 to $1.5,000,000. The value of 

 products in 1899 was .$56,000,000, in 

 1909, $91,000,000. 



In the matter of exports of dried 

 fruits, the most remarkable is in the 

 development of ouj- dried prune ex- 

 ports, which seem to have grown enor- 

 mously in Europe, as well as in India, 

 Siam, the Philippines, Egypt, French 

 and Portuguese Africa, Dutch Guinea 

 and British Honduras. 



PRUNE EXPORTS, BY COUNTRIES 



.\nother very remarkable expansion 

 of dried-fruit ex|)orts has been in our 

 exports of dried apples, which in 1913 

 amounted to over 10,000,000 pounds to 

 Germany, 6,000,000 pounds to The Neth- 

 erlands, and only 5,000,000 pounds to all 

 the rest of the world. Our exports of 

 dried apricots reached the amount of 

 16,000.000 pounds in 1913, Great Hiilain 

 taking 5.000,000 pounds and Germany 

 3,000,b00 pounds. Our canned goods 

 are exported largely to Great Britain, 

 \vhich look in 1912 $2,261,000 worlli, 

 while all of I'uroiJC look hut $2,900,0110. 

 North America took $1,150,000 and 



South America took only $100,000. Our 

 exports in jams, jellies and other pre- 

 served fruits does not exceed more 

 than about $200,000 in value, two-thirds 

 of which goes to North America, prac- 

 tically to Canada and British Columbia. 

 In dried fruits, then, we may say that 

 we have the world for a market, as 

 well as an enormous market in the 

 United States. In canned fruits our 

 markets are limited largely to Great 

 Britain, North America and the United 

 States, In jellies and other preserved 

 fruits our market is practically at 

 home, in our own country. 



The exports of pickles, sauces, etc, 

 in 1912 was .«285,000 to Europe, $1,- 

 150,000 to North America, only $20,000 

 to South America, and small amounts 

 to other parts of the world. 



The exports of canned ve.getables to 

 all European countries amounted In 

 only $347,000; $195,000 to the Philip- 

 pines; $1,03.5,000 to North America; 

 •$58,000 to South America, and very lim- 

 ited amounts to other parts of the 

 world, including $66,000 to Asia. 



From this data it will be observed 

 that the greatest opportunity for the 

 development of markets for the by- 

 products of the Northwest lies in dried 

 fruit to European countries, some to 

 Asiatic countries, and canned fruits 

 almost exclusively to Great Britain and 

 North America. The great increase in 

 the exports of prunes has been in the 

 years that very satisfactory prices 

 have been received by the producers. 

 As far as the Oregon prune is con- 

 cerned, these increased exports have 

 taken place on the basis of five cents 

 per pound to the growers, which is 

 certainly a most satisfactory condition 

 of market development. During 1912-13 

 the prune exports from the United 

 States to foreign countries were more 

 than half the total production of the 

 dried prunes of the United States. 

 These great exports can continue to 

 grow on the basis of five cents to pro- 

 ducers and offer great encouragement 

 to the increased production of prunes. 



In the matter of dried apples the sit- 

 uation is somewhat different. Reports 

 from New York show that in 1900 the 

 apple growers received fifteen cents 

 per bushel for apples that went to 

 evaporators, or about $6 per Ion. In 

 1901 Ihey received 32 cents per bushel, 

 or approximately !*14 per ton. In 1902 

 and 1903 ihey received ai)proximately 

 $10 per ton. The latest reports from 

 New York show that in a ten-year 

 average growers received for apples 

 that went jointly to evaporators and 

 vinegar plants $10 per ton. New York 

 is the greatest of all apple-producing 

 districts and iiroduces more dried 

 ai)i)les for export than any other state, 

 and if Ibis section of the country is to 

 com]. etc will) Ihem in the foreign niar- 

 kels, probabililies are that we are not 

 likely to receive a ])rice in excess of 

 $10 |)er ton. These figures of the ten- 

 year average show that 'i~^-2 bushels to 

 the acre of culls were sold for evapo- 



