SECTION OF FOREIGN MAEKETS. 169 



Fruits also occupied an important place in the Pacific export trade, 

 the consignments for 1900 amounting in value to over $3,000,000. 

 Canned fruits formed the principal part of these exports, having a 

 value of about $2,400,000, while the shipments of fresh and dried 

 fruits were valued at a little more than $600,000. 



Another leading item was that comprising the various meat prod- 

 ucts, the exports of which had an aggregate value of $1,086,000. 

 Canned beef, hams, lard, and bacon were the principal articles. The 

 value of the canned beef exported was $205,000, that of the hams 

 $199,000, that of the lard $143,000, and that of the bacon $111,000. 



Live animals, and especially mules and horses, were also shipped 

 quite extensively. Mules formed an item of $427,000 and horses one 

 of $347,000. The exports of animals of all kinds amounted in total 

 value to about $950,000. 



There was a considerable exportation of malt liquors through our 

 Pacific ports in 1900, consignments worth $662,000 being reported. 



Dairy products were exported to the value of about $600,000. Milk 

 formed an item of $311,000 and butter one of $212,000. The exports 

 of cheese were comparatively small. 



Ginseng was an item of considerable importance, the shipments of 

 this product having a value of $426,000. 



Vegetables comprised an item of $414,000. Potatoes, valued at 

 $123,000, were the principal exports in this class. 



There was also an important export trade in wines, the shipments 

 of the year amounting in value to $412,000. 



Other agricultural exports from the Pacific coast in 1900 with a 

 value exceeding $100,000 were as follows: Hay, $376,000; distilled 

 spirits, $366,000; leaf tobacco, $336,000; rice, $296,000; and refined 

 sugar, $139,000. 



PLANS FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. 



In addition to the three trade reports that are now issued annually 

 by the Section, corresponding to Bulletins Nos. 23, 24, and 25 of the 

 past fiscal year, and later issues of which are in course of preparation, 

 several publications ha\ T e been planned with the object of making 

 more readily available the official import statistics, so far as they 

 relate to farm produce, of the principal foreign countries. A report 

 on the agricultural imports of the United Kingdom has already been 

 begun, to be followed by similar publications in reference to other 

 nations. The special object of these reports will be to show what 

 proportion of the various products of agriculture, needed by these 

 countries to meet their domestic requirements, is being furnished by 

 the United States and by other producing countries. It is believed 

 that statistics of this character will be exceedingly useful in pointing 

 out the directions in which our agricultural export trade shows the 

 greatest opportunities for development. 



The preparation of the exhaustive report on Chinese commerce, for 

 which considerable matter has already been compiled, will be con- 

 tinued, and it is hoped that before the end of the current fiscal year 

 its publication will be possible. 



