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£or instance, there were strong signs that the United States poten- 

 tially could be squeezed out of the world apple market. Plantings 

 in France and other nearby countries in Western and Eastern Europe 

 had been exceptionally heavy, portending a future explosion in pro- 

 duction. 



Shortly after the inid-1960's, the explosion hit. Once-viable 

 U.S. markets in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia collapsed. Pros- 

 pects appeared bleak to impossible in Latin America and the Far East. 



Canada -- like the United States a leading producer and exporter 

 -- was plagued with similar problems. And, to compound the problem 

 still further. Southern Hemisphere suppliers such as Australia and 

 New Zealand began to eye the U.S. late winter through early summer 

 market with greater interest. They also were having access problems 

 in Western Europe. 



Coinciding with these developments was burgeoning production in 

 the United States of Red Delicious and other types. 



U.S. exports during that time did fall considerably -- averaging 

 about 2-2.5 million cartons in the late 1960's and early 1970's. 

 However, a nucleus of grower-shippers simultaneously were searching 

 for new markets and making quality improvements needed to compete. 



Gradually, the situation improved, and today U.S. apple exporters 

 are shipping reasonably large volumes to the Far East, Latin America, 

 and the Middle East. 



Last year's record showing capped this rebound, as most major 

 markets came through with larger purchases than in 1976/77. 



CANADA -- largest single market for U.S. apples -- was one of 

 the exceptions to this generally upward trend and probably will show 

 another slight decline in 1978/79. The current forecast: 2.4 

 million cartons, against 2.6 million shipped in 1977/78. 



However, U.S. sales there last year were larger than expected, 

 coming in just 300,000 cartons under the unusually high level of 

 1976/77. 



The major limiting factors for 1978/79 will be the slightly 

 larger Canadian crop and price gains resulting from the weakness of 

 Canada's currency against the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar in 

 October was worth slightly less than 85 U.S. cents, compared with 

 93 in August 1977. 



In WESTERN EUROPE, U.S. shippers cannot expect to repeat their 

 strong 1977/78 showing of 1.4 million cartons in view of the 22 per- 

 cent gain estimated for apple production in 11 key countries there 

 over the unusually low level of 1977. The current estimate for 

 1978/79 exports: 600,000 cartons, or some 15 percent above the 

 522,000 cartons shipped in 1976/77. 



