-3- 



of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' AsGoclatlon, was Invited to give 

 a talk on one of these occasions to about two hundred retail gro- 

 cers. Merchandising ideas were discussed and a real educational 

 program was brought out. Advertising material was freely given 

 and'recioe booklets. A radio program was put on by a large chain 

 unit over one of the networks and a very prominent fruit grower's 

 wife was interviewed in regard to the use of appled. Several 

 hundred requests for apple recipe folders have been received and -- 

 sent out as a result of this radio talk. Apples have- received 

 front page publicity, and people throughout New- iSngland have been 

 given an opportunity to become better acquainted, .with our New Eng — 

 land grovm apples. " -■. 



Many Apples Still in Cold Storage 



Stocks of apples in cold st-orage- on Febraarr" 1, T9'3S totaled 

 26,000,000 bushels. This is the largest February 1 cold storage 

 holding on record, exceeding that of I937 by ^0% and the 1927-36 

 average by 2^%. The great increase is in the eastern- and central-', 

 states. The st-orage stocks in the western states, though larger 



than- in 1937, are slightly below average. The total exports of 



apples for the- current season through December amo«-nted to 5,300,000 

 bushels". This amount exceeds tha.t of a comparable period in 1937, 

 but is smaller- than those of recent years of larg*^ crops. Apple 

 prices in terminal markets in the East and Mid-West remained stea-dx 

 during 'January, thus leveling off a doi^nrrnrd trend:--experi-ence(i up 

 to the close .of 1937- ^^ years of heavy production- it is not un — -„ 

 usual for prices to decline materially after October. 'This was 

 particularly to be- expected this .season because the- natural price- 

 depressing effect of heavy supplies has been accentuated by declixi-- 

 ing consximer purchasing power. For example, the i-ndex showing 

 industrial worker income droppre-d from 90 In October to 76 in De- 

 cember, 1937. Li' -Southj^ick^ 



Apple Exports 



It is of interest to notice the concern, of"~C!an8-dian apple "''^' 

 growers over a. possible ne"' trade agreement betwe-en Great Britain, 

 Canada, and the United S.tates. In 1932 the Brit-ish. Preferential 

 Tariff was put into effect to aid the Canadian grower. As a re-suHr 

 imports of Canadian apples into the United Kingdom have increased 

 by il5 per cent with a corresponding decrea.se of American apple irT>— 

 ports amounting to about U-5 per cent. Almost, one^half -of ■ Canada' s 

 commercial apple crop, is exported. Most of these-^xported apples 

 go to Great B-ritain because of the specific price, advantage over 

 competitors such as American growers. Thus, a Massachusetts f-rn^riv' 

 must pay a duty of about 1^1.12 per barrel more than a Nova Scotia 

 grover. It is no wonder that Canada is solidly against any change. 



This winter, imports from the United Statas have comprised 

 about one-half the total a.pple imports and 100^ of- the pear imporlrs 

 of the United Kingdom., For instance, from December S to February 9 

 the volume was about 1,250,000 bushels of apples a,nd400,000 buchej-S 

 of pears. The price for apples has averaged somewhat under two 

 dollars "per -bushel. A majority of the American apples have been 

 shipped from Washington, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania. As 

 usual, export markets will take approximately 10,^ of our 1937 com- 

 mercial apple crop. It is quite possible that a now trade a.greement 



