74 BULLETIN 1415, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Cooperation between shippers to foreign markets in an effort to 
reguiate the flow of supplies and thus to stabilize prices is urged by 
special marketing agents of the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, who recommend a careful study of current market conditions 
to avoid glutted and undersupplied markets. 
Certain cooperative organizations have urged that the system of 
centralized distribution be extended to foreign markets. By such a 
plan distribution would be handled by one agency which would 
determine to which port shipments should come and would regulate 
distribution to interior markets or reexport to Continental Europe. 
Direct shipments might be made to Dutch and Scandinavian sea- 
ports, itis urged, with a similar plan of distribution to their surround- 
ine territory. The demand would be encouraged by advertising. 
It is claimed that supervision of consignment and distribution would 
remove many of the speculative elements of the foreign trade by 
preventing excessive or irregular supply or the overloading of some 
markets while others are neglected. The highly organized methods 
applied te the box pack in the producing sections and its high quality 
and standard grading make the product especially suitable for cen- 
tralized distribution. The low per capita consumption of apples in 
Europe and even in the United Kingdom suggests a wide field for 
expansion of the demand. 
In British markets, as elsewhere, the higher freight charges since 
the World War and higher prices at retail are cited as limitmeg the 
distribution of apples. The per capita consumption of apples in the 
United Kingdom is estimated at less than half that of the United 
States or Canada. The apple imports of the United Kingdom, | 
from all sources, are about 8 million bushels per year, having increased 
about one-third during 1920, 1921, and 1922, as compared with pre- 
war years. About one-half the total isfrom the United States. Aver- 
age production of apples in the United Kingdom is about the same 
volume as the average imports and has shown no definite increase 
in the past 15 years. 
TRADE iN DRIED APPLES 
Exports of dried apples were stimulated by the great apple crop of 
1896 and reached the unusual total of 27 million pounds in that year. 
They continued heavy and increased year by year, reaching 54 mil- 
lion pounds in 1912. They were interrupted by the war period and 
continued light for several years after the war, although recovering 
to nearly 17 million pounds by 1923. Shipments are nearly all to 
western Hurope. Germany and Holland led in pre-war seasons and 
since 1920 these countries seem to be regaining former volume of 
trade, taking over one-half the exports in 1921 or about the same 
proportion of the total as in 1913. The active period of exports of 
dried apples 1s from October to January. Over three-fourths of the 
total usually moves durmg these four months. Shipments corre- 
spond in generai with the active export season for fresh apples. 
APPLE IMPORTS 
Import figures for apples, available in detail only since September, 
1922, show imports, September to December, 1922, equivalent to 
48,327 barrels, and for the year ended December 31, 1923, to 44,472 
barrels. About three-fourths of the arrivals are from Canada and 
