PROBLEMS OF COOPERATIVE MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS 49 



Except possibly for a few specialties, like raisins, prunes, and 

 grapefruit, the possibility of increasing European demand for Amer- 

 ican fruits and vegetables appears to be limited. Canada, however, 

 is an important market for many crops. Several national sales 

 agencies have representatives in the more important Canadian cities, 

 and there is some evidence that the per capita consumption of fruits 

 and vegetables in Canada is about the same as in the United States. 

 The opportunity for increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables 

 is, therefore, no greater in Canada than in the United States. 



The cooperative associations may also increase the consumption of 

 fruits and vegetables by promoting new uses or new outlets for the 

 product. One of the most striking examples of this is the popularity 

 of raisin bread which was stimulated by the raisin growers' organ- 

 ization and provided an outlet for many tons of California raisins. 

 The California Fruit Growers' Exchange states that an orange- juice 

 extractor, manufactured by a subsidiary of the exchange, now pro- 

 vides a profitable outlet for over 2,500 cars of oranges each year. 

 These oranges are consumed as orange juice which does not compete 

 directly with fruits and vegetables, but with various drinks dispensed 

 at soda fountains. 



The manufacture of low-grade fruits and vegetables into by- 

 products opens up new outlets for these grades. What is more im- 

 portant the better grades no longer have to compete with inferior 

 products. The difficulty in by-product manufacture has been to dis- 

 cover methods whereby cull products can -be utilized profitably. The 

 fruit and vegetable organizations should be interested in developing 

 research work in this field. 



CHANGES IN THE SUPPLY 



Changes in the supply of fruits and vegetables tend to be made at 

 the present time on the basis of the prices of past seasons, and usually 

 fail to take into consideration the probable conditions during the 

 period when the crops must be marketed. Changes in acreage of 

 particular crops do not always reflect price changes, however, be- 

 cause it is not always possible to make readjustments in production 

 practices even when a crop has been unprofitable for one or more 

 years. Though production may increase rapidly in response to the 

 stimulus of high prices, a }^ear of low prices may not bring about a 

 corresponding reduction in production. Furthermore, fruit trees 

 and vines do not produce a commercial crop until from 3 to 10 years 

 after they are planted. Consequently, the bearing acreage of this 

 season has been determined several years previously. Adjustments 

 in production are slow and difficult. 



Over a long period, however, no grower will continue to produce 

 crops that fail to bring him cost of production. Many growers 

 abandon their orchards or truck fields under unfavorable market con- 

 ditions. Others neglect fertilization, cultivation, spraying, and prun- 

 ing because they can not afford to spend money to produce an un- 

 profitable crop. As a result there are swings from periods of over- 

 production and low prices to periods of underproduction and high 

 prices. Such swings, in one direction or the other, may occur with- 

 out noteworthy changes in demand. This problem points to the 



