Table L- 



THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 3 



-California raisin crop compared with the quantity and value of ex- 

 ports and imports of raisins in the United States. 



Year. 



California 



crop 

 (pounds). 



Exports for fiscal year 

 ending June 30. 



Imports for fiscal year 

 ending June 30. 





Pounds. 



Value. 



Pounds. 



Value. 



1885 



9,400,000 

 38, 000, 000 

 91, 000, 000 

 90, 000, 000 

 87, 000. 000 

 115, 000, 000 

 120, 000, 000 

 185,000,000 

 130, 000, 000 

 182, 000, 000 

 250, 000, 000 







38, 319, 787 

 36,914,330 

 15,921,278 

 10,309,498 

 4,041,689 

 5, 042, 683 

 2, 479, 220 

 3, 255, 861 

 2, 579, 705 

 4,554,549 

 2, 808, 806 



$2, 661, 669 



1890 







1,997,103 



1S95 







651,420 



1900 . . 



2,415,456 

 7,054,824 

 8, 526, 114 

 18, 659, 992 

 19,949,046 

 28, 120, 507 

 14,766,416 

 24,845,414 



$139, 689 



372, 087 



417,403 



1,069.300 



1,351,986 



1,512,642 



997, 575 



1, 718, 547 



531, 124 



1905 



273,031 



1910 



296.047 



1911 



237,422 



1912 



295, 466 



1913 



241,630 



191 4 



309, 511 



1915 



238, 958 







About 110,000 acres are devoted to raisin growing. Of the 58 

 counties in California, 11 produce raisins in commercial quantities. 

 The raisin output of the State in 1914 was 182,000,000 pounds. The 

 estimated quantity produced in each county is shown in Table II. 



Table II. — Estimated production of raisins in California, by counties, in 1914. 



County. 



Crop. 



County. 



Crop. 





Pounds. 



106,000,000 



30,000,000 



24, 000, 000 



6,000,000 



4, 600, 000 



3, 200, 000 



2,400,000 



Yolo 



Pounds. 

 2,500,000 







1, 600, 000 



Kings 



Sutter 





900, 000 



Los Angeles 



Total 



800, 000 





182,000,000 











It will be seen from this that Fresno County alone produces nearly 

 60 per cent of the entire raisin output of the State. It was in 1892 

 that the California raisin crop first equaled that of Spain. Cali- 

 fornia now produces about three times as many raisins as Spain. 



At present the annual consumption of raisins in the United States 

 is less than 1J pounds per capita. Were we to consume as much as 

 Great Britain, or about 5 pounds per capita, the industry in this 

 country could be quadrupled without causing overproduction. 



SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN THE INDUSTRY. 



From 1889 to 1893 an average of 5 cents a pound was realized 

 by the raisin growers, and the industry was very profitable. An 

 era of falling prices then began and continued until in 1897 raisins 

 were quoted as low as three-fourths of a cent a pound. Many 

 growers gave up in despair, and thousands of acres of vines were 



