general information for the entire Federal 

 District. Compilations are made and monthly 

 and annual summaries issued. Paper, how- 

 ever, is expensive in Argentina and only- 

 limited copies of the summaries are distrib- 

 uted. 



Fruit for domestic use in Argentina is of 

 three types: orchard run fruit in lidded boxes 

 of various sizes averaging about 65 pounds, 

 fruit not suitable for export but graded and 



packed in standard boxes, and fruit originally 

 packed for export but turned down by inspec- 

 tion officials at the port because of decay or 

 other condition factors in excess of tolerance. 



Since export fruit generally moves to cold 

 storage in Buenos Aires to await export and 

 domestic fruit moves directly to market, this 

 last category is in most cases the only fruit 

 on the domestic market which has been refrig- 

 erated at all. 



TABLE 24. — Raisins: Calculated cost of packing and processing, San Juan, 1952 and 1957 





1952 



1957 





Sultanina 



Muscatel 



Sultanina 



Miscatel 





Pesos 



per lug' 



72.00 



9.50 



4.30 



.50 



1.40 



.10 



3.00 



Dollars 



Per lug' 



1.89 



.25 



.11 



.01 



.04 



.003 



.08 



Pesos 



per lug' 



42.00 



6.20 



4.30 



.50 



1.40 



.10 



3.00 



Dollars 

 per lug' 

 1.11 



.16 



.11 



.01 



.04 

 .003 

 .08 



Pesos 



per lug' 



120.00 



10.50 



5.10 



.70 



2.50 



.10 



4.00 



Dollars 

 per lug' 

 3.16 



.28 



.13 



.02 



.06 



.003 



.11 



Pesos 

 per lug' 



120.00 



7.20 



5.00 



.70 



2.00 



.10 



4.00 



Dollars 

 per lug' 

 3.16 





.19 



9ox . 



.13 



Assembling box 



Nails, paper, packing material, and 



.02 

 .05 



Export seals 



Administration charges 



.003 

 .11 



Cost f .o.b. San Juan 



90.80 



2.39 



57.50 



1.51 



142.90 



3.76 



139.00 



3.66 



Freight to Buenos Aires 



2.35 



.06 



2.35 



.06 



3.80 



.10 



3.80 



.10 





93.15 



2.45 



59.85 



1.57 



146.70 



3.86 



142.80 



3.76 







^ 22 pounds of raisins, net v;eight. 



Recently there has been a trend toward stor- 

 age of fruit destined for the domestic market 

 and this practice will likely continue. It is par- 

 ticularly prevalent among the larger growers 

 in areas such as the Delta who wish to hold 

 fruit for sale when higher-quality producing 

 areas are not on the market. 



EXPORT OUTLOOK 

 Fresh Fruit 



Argentine exports of apples and pears are 

 growing substantially and will continue to do 

 so. In addition, Argentina is finding means to 

 extend shipments over a longer period. If this 

 trend continues United States fruit will be 

 facing increasing competition fronn Argentine 

 fruit during the early months of the United 

 States season in addition to that now encoun- 

 tered in the late naonths. 



This competition is not likely to be of any 

 great concern on United States home markets, 

 as storage fruit from the Southern Hemisphere 

 cannot hope to compete successfully with 

 home-grown supplies during and immediately 

 following the United States harvest season. 

 However, United States exporters will likely 

 find this development causing them increasing 

 concern in world markets, particularly in 

 Scandinavia and elsewhere in northern Europe. 



For example, Argentine exports of apples 

 to West Germany increased from in 1955 to 

 59,000 boxes in 1957; to Sweden from 110,000 

 to 650,000 during the same period; and to 

 Norway from to 184,000 boxes. 



On the other hand, the tremendous increase 

 in supplies available in the early part of the 

 Argentine shipping season could tend to in- 

 crease exports at that time to United States 

 markets. Such shipnnents would compete di- 

 rectly with United States storage apples dur- 

 ing the spring movement. The volume, how- 

 ever, of Argentine shipments to the United 

 States will depend largely on the price level 

 existing in the United States. This price level, 

 in turn, is generally a reflection of the do- 

 mestic supply situation and thus could be ex- 

 pected to work as a deterrent to Argentina in 

 years when United States domestic supplies 

 are heavy. 



This short-term outlook is particularly ap- 

 plicable to apples. In the long run, if present 

 relatively profitable conditions for pears con- 

 tinue, much the same type of pattern could 

 develop in this commodity. 



There is nothing in the picture now to indi- 

 cate any sudden curtailment or reversal of this 

 trend. Pears will continue expansion at very 

 moderate rates for at least the next few years. 

 The long-term outlook of course depends on 

 the continuation of the profitable price levels 

 and on how rapidly the resultant increase in 

 the rate of planting of new trees develops. 



Processed Fruit 



Exports of canned peaches can also be ex- 

 pected to increase in coming years. Argentina 

 already has the fresh production and plant ca- 

 pacity to increase packing to meet widening 

 nnarkets in Europe. If restrictions on the 



16 



