production, transportation, and handling techniques have made 

 it possible for American and foreign producers to keep fresh 

 fruit in all major food markets during the winter months. This, 

 and the rising level of consumer incomes has made it possible 

 for the majority of the population to purchase such items as 

 oranges, bananas, grapes, and pears in addition to apples during 

 the winter months. 



(2) Advances in food technology have made possible better pro- 

 cessed apple products that compete actively with fresh apples. 

 Frozen and canned slices have eliminated the peeling of fresh 

 apples for pies in many households and most bakeries and 

 restaurants. The savings in labor make it advantageous in many 

 instances to substitute processed apples for fresh. 



During the period 1956-1958 an average of 65 percent of the total 

 apple crop was used fresh. ^ During the 'period 1920-1922, 94 percent 

 was used fresh." With total production remaining fairly stable from 

 1920 to 1958, it seems that both the absolute and relative amounts of 

 the total crop going into processed outlets had substantially increased 

 during the past 30 years. 



Table 6 shows the average portion of the total production of apples 

 used fresh in various geographical regions for two time periods. It is 

 quite apparent that certain areas utilize a considerable portion of their 

 crops in the processing industry, others primarily for the fresh market. 

 Althoiigh the relative amount of the total crop going into fresh con- 

 sumption has declined, it can be seen that the same areas produced 

 primarily for the fresh market in both time periods and that the states 

 which processed a large portion of their crop in the early period pro- 

 cessed even more in the later period. There are several reasons for this: 



(1) Some areas are best suited, by soil and climate, for growing 

 those varieties of apples most desired for fresh use. 



(2) Some producing areas are close to metropolitan centers and thus 

 are in a better position to supply nearby fresh markets. Pro- 

 ducers in these areas are usually operating at relatively high 

 costs due to industrial and urban pressures on the land and 

 labor force. Because gross returns from processing apples are 

 relatively low, growers for this market tend to locate in less 

 populous areas. 



(3) Institutional factors are important here. Over time processing 

 plants have been built in specific areas, labor has been imported 

 and/or trained to service these plants, selling and buying or- 

 ganizations have been established and growers have become 

 accustomed to growing, harvesting and handling apples for pro- 

 cessing outlets. As these factors reinforce each other the insti- 

 tutional framework of production and utilization is definitely 

 slanted toward processing. The same sort of thing can happen 



5U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Statistics: 1942 and 1959, pp. 162, 

 160. 



6 Ibid. 



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