Modern Marketing Problems — How we are Meeting Them 



R. M. Winslow, B. S. A., Provincial Horticulturist, Victoria, B. C. 



RL'IT growing in British Columbia 

 has in it many of the elements of 

 a liberal education. One can hard- 

 hope to succeed without a practical 

 astery of the problems of marketing as 

 well as of culture and packing. Thus the 

 members of our large (xwperative organ- 

 izations, who pay capable men to handle 

 their marketing must constantly be study- 

 ing changing problems of market de- 

 mand and competition, if they are to con- 

 tinue to give confident support to the 

 men they employ to sell their fruit. Many 

 kinds Off British Columbia fruit do not 

 lend themselves to cooperative sale and 

 lor these lines the individual grower 

 must be his own salesman. 



Practically ninety per cent, of all Brit- 

 ish Columbia fruit that is .sold goes to 

 conisumers at least four hundred miles 

 away. Probably not more than five per 

 cent, of our fruit is marketed within ten 

 miles of the point of production. Ten 

 per cent, of our apples are marketed 

 from six hundred to twelve hundred 

 miles from home. Such conditions re- 

 quire some study of geography and trade 

 routes, to say nothing of the study of 

 human nature at long range. Because 

 of the long distance from markets and 

 the varying climatic and soil conditions, 

 British Columbia fruit growing lends 

 itself to specialization and, on the whole, 

 requires highly perfected organization 

 for its success. 



A PKESSING PROBLEM 

 One of the most pressing of marketing 



problems is that of increasing produc- 

 tion. In 1900, British Columbia had 

 8,000 acres in fruit ; in 1910, this was 

 increased to 33,600 acres, and in 191 3 to 

 38,200 acres. Of the total planting, not 

 twenty-five per cent, is yet in bearing, 

 but the total production increased from 

 the value of $200,000 in 1903, to $1,- 

 030,000 in 1913. The 1914 fruit crop on 

 the whole will be 20 per cent, to 25 per 

 cent, greater than in 1913, but the total 

 value will also increase, though not quite 

 in proportion. 



The values given are not nearly as 

 great as credited to the crop of igio by 

 the Dominion census officers, but it re- 

 presents only the product handled in re- 

 cognized commercial channels, and the 

 values are on a f.o.b. basis. 



This increasing production, in view of 

 the large market for high class fruit, 

 would Ix; more of a pleasure than a pro- 

 blem if it was not for a steadily increas- 

 ing production in the north-western 

 states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho 

 and Montana. In these four states, 

 which had practically no fresh fruit in- 

 dustry twenty years ago, there are now 

 over 280,000 acres planted in fruit, 

 which have every rea.sonable prospect of 



commercial success, and an almost equal 

 amoimt of orchard which is not likely to 

 do so well, but will still add materially 

 to the production. The north-western 

 states moved only about 2,000 carloads 

 of fruit in 1912, but in 1913 they had 

 1(1,000 carloads of apples alone, and in 

 1914 they will have about 15,000 car- 

 loads of apples, about 4,000 carloads of 

 peaches, pears, plums and prunes, and 

 over 200 carloads each of apricots, straw- 

 berries and cherries, and over 300 car- 

 loads of raspberries, in all of which lines 

 British Columbia growers must face for- 

 midable organized production, capable 

 of shipping straight carloads of fruits 

 into our markets just as our own crops 

 are coming on. 



WHAT COMPETITION NECESSITATES 



Increasing production and increasing 

 competition will compel our growers, 

 with a new industry on their hands, to 

 be constantly on the alert and to cut cost 

 of production as low as possible consis- 

 tent with efficiency. Over the whole of 

 the province, cooperative organizations 

 for the purchase of fruit growers' sup- 

 plies and for the sale of their products 

 have developed. Many of these handle 

 flour and feed, spray materials, and other 

 similar commodities, while in some ca.ses 

 fruit growers are operating highly suc- 

 cessful retail businesses in household 

 supplies. Both in the markets of the 

 coast and the prairies, the principal fac- 

 tor in determining our prices and even 

 the entry of our products into these mar- 

 kets, is competition from the north- 

 western states, and the continuous ad- 

 justment of British Columbia fruit mar- 

 keting to meet competition is the most 

 important consideration. 



We are being compelled in a multitude 

 of ways to meet .American competition. 



Most important is the constantly rising 

 standard of perfection in grading, pack- 

 ing, and particularly in the matter of the 

 weight of fruit per package, on all of 

 which our markets are very critical. 



The British Columbia packages are, in 

 general, very closely copied after those 

 of the north-western states and Califor- 

 nia, but changes in their particular 

 styles have to be followed more or less 

 closely by us to meet their competition. 

 Taking a striking and fresh instance: 

 It is generally known that the United 

 States Government has finally passed a 

 law creating two standard boxes for 

 berries, a full pint holding 33.7 cubic 

 inches and a full quart holding 67.4 

 cubic inches. The Canadian standards 

 are two-fifths of a quart, which is 27.7 

 cubic inches, and four-fifths of a quart or 

 55.5 cubic inches. North-western straw- 

 berries were shipped into western Can- 

 ada in dozens of car loads packed in the 

 full pint crate. The consumers made 

 practically no distinction in price between 

 the American full pint and our four-fifth 

 quart, which held one-half more berries. 

 The fact must be said that the consumers 

 took very kindly to the full pints as 

 against our four-fifths. The Dominion 

 Inspection Service do not require it to 

 be marked short in the regulations and 

 in consequence our growers must in 191 5 

 adopt the full pint. 



The full pint is also used for American 

 raspberries as against our two-fifths 

 quart, which holds about nine ounces as 

 against ten and a half ounces in the pint. 

 The advantage in this case was on our 

 side, but the trade handling American 

 berries objected strongly to handling 

 our hallack of less capacity, and it is like- 

 ly if not next year, the following year, 

 we will l>e compelled to come to the full 



Fruit Packing on the Fruit Farm of J. W. Smith, Winona, Ont. 



215 



