There is, in addition, a large volume of relatively short hauls from the 

 eastern production areas to nearby markets. 



Apple Storage 



Almost two-thirds of the apples destined for fresh markets are placed 

 in refrigerated storage before final sale. The storage operation material- 

 ly lengthens the marketing period. Most of the refrigerated apple stor- 

 age facilities are located on farms. Since the Pacific and Mountain 

 areas market a relatively high percent of their crop in the fresh form 

 they have over half of the total refrigerated apple storage capacity. 

 There is a fairly steady movement of apples out of storage at a rate of 

 about twenty percent per month from January 1 to June 1. 



Foreign Trade in Apples 



During the 1930's the United States exported about 15 percent of her 

 total apple crop. In early 1960 net exports averaged less than 4 percent 

 of the total crop. This drastic reduction in exports is due primarily to 

 the fact that former importers are now nearly self-sufficient regarding 

 apples. There is little reason to expect that exports will increase in the 

 near future with the possible exception of small increases in shipments 

 to Latin America. 



Competition on the Apple Market 



By applying various economic criteria it appears that the market for 

 apj)les is a relatively competitive one. Despite the trends toward large 

 scale producing and marketing organizations it appears that in most 

 cases no single organization can materially affect the market. The 

 homogeneity of the product, adequate market information and lack of 

 discrimination between buyers and sellers also indicate that a fairly 

 competitive market does exist. 



Competition Between Producing Regions 



The most severe competition between apple producing regions occurs 

 on fresh markets in deficit areas. The fact that it is uneconomical to 

 ship apples a long distance for processing precludes interregional com- 

 petition in processing markets. 



The Western Region is essentially self-sufficient in fresh apples. The 

 Central Region produces less than one-third of its needs but obtains 

 most of its apples from the Western Region. The North Atlantic Region 

 produces over two-thirds of its needs and imports most of its additional 

 needs from the Western Region. The South Atlantic Region produces 

 less than half of its needs and imports heavily from the Western and 

 North Atlantic Regions. 



The timing of shipments is an important determinant of the degree 

 of interregional competition. The general pattern is for local producers 

 to market early in the season and for distant shippers to appear on the 

 market relatively late in the season. Competition, therefore, is more 

 severe between distant producers shipping to a given market than be- 

 tween a distant and local producer shipping to the market. 



