who experienced unprofitable ventures are likely to drop by the 

 wayside this season. As a result, a degree of stability should 

 return to the market, and shipments of U.S. apples should take 

 a more orderly flow. 



While the 1980/81 projection remains conditional at this 

 point, U.S. apple exports to Taiwan should be down from 3.4 million 

 cartons in 1979/80. Other markets in the Far East and the Pacific 

 should show a slight gain from the 1.6 million cartons in 1979/80. 



Canada The large increase in the export volume to Canada 

 last season still defies pinpoint measurement. Costs may have had 

 a bearing on the record flow of U.S. apples to our northern neighbor, 

 but the most plausible reason probably rests on the fact that Canada's 

 per capita consumption of fresh produce is rising rapidly. The 

 so-called "fresh approach" seems to be catching fire there as in 

 many other countries around the world. 



But the export projection for U.S. apples to Canada this season 

 is guided only by the distribution of the Canadian crop. In view 

 of the anticipated crop increases in Ontario and to a lesser extent 

 in Quebec, movement of U.S. apples will probably be somewhat less 

 than last season's. 



Western Europe The apple crop in this area is down very slightly 

 to 13.4 million metric tons in 1980/81, with most of the drop occur- 

 ing in the southern European countries, especially Spain and Greece. 



The combined crops in the three key exporting countries-France, 

 Italy, and the Netherlands-are almost on par with last year's pro- 

 duction of 4.3 million tons. 



Turning to the key market countries, apple production in the 

 United Kingdom is expected to be about 358,000 tons, about 1 percent 

 below the 1979/80 outturn. 



Market prices in the United Kingdom were exceptionally low this 

 past season. As a result, the National Farmers' Union has been 

 waging a vigorous campaign, claiming that the very survival of the 

 English apple is at stake. Charges of unfair competition against 

 French goldens have been denied in France. 



In 1980/81, U.K. growers hope the low prices of last season 

 will not be repeated because of an agreement with French exporters 

 to limit shipments of French goldens to only the higher grades, 

 with bulk shipments excluded. 



In 1979/80, French apples represented a staggering 87 percent 

 of the total U.K. imports during the v/inter months. 



In Norway, the apple crop this season is expected to top last 

 season's total, so the opening of the import market was delayed. 

 However, importers remain confident that the import level will 

 remain high-possibly around 200,000 cartons. A small plus for 



