British pound in mid-October 1978 was worth about $2.08, compared 

 with about $1.85 a year earlier. 



Given a landed duty-paid price of $12 per carton (42 lb) for 

 both years, U.K. importers would have paid about ^ 5.77 for U.S. 

 apples in October 1978 -- some 11 percent less than a year earlier. 



Some further examples of the prolonged deterioration in the 

 value of one U.S. dollar vis-a-vis foreign currencies (as of October 

 27, 1978) include: 



Netherlands 



Switzerland 



West Germany 



Norway 



Singapore 



Malaysia 



Currently, it looks as if total U.S. apple exports in 1978/79 

 could add up close to last season's recent high of 7.9 million car- 

 tons. Exports in 1978/79 were well above the exceptionally good 

 showing of the preceding season (1976/77), when 6.3 million cartons 

 moved into foreign markets. 



At the start of last season, U.S. apple shippers were faced with 

 a very inviting situation. The important European producers were 

 then reporting exceptionally small apple crops, which for all Europe 

 amounted to only about 5 million tons, compared with 6.4 million in 

 1976. This meant that the United States had an excellent opportunity 

 to help fill the vacuum on the Continent -- aided by a temporary 

 reduction in the EC common external tariff on apples from 14 percent 

 to 6 percent. Additionally, the area's leading producer, France, 

 was not able to reach distant markets with the same intensity of 

 former years. 



As it turned out, France's apple crop in 1977 was down some 27 

 percent from the previous year to 1.2 million tons. This decline 

 greatly limited the country's export potential while opening up new 

 outlets for the United States in Europe, the Middle East, and other 

 markets . 



Despite loss of shipping time during the first of last season 

 because of the dock strike on the east coast, U.S. apple exports 

 went on to score a 25 percent gain in volume and a 57 percent increase 

 in value over the 1976/77 levels. On a price per carton basis, 

 export sales to all destinations averaged $8.42 per equivalent 42- 

 pound carton, versus $6.71 per carton in 1976/77. 



This is a far cry from the depressing prospects that confronted 

 U.S. exporters in the 1960's and early 1970's. Around 1962, for 



