The remaining third went to processing markets for uses ranging from pressing for juices and ciders to peeling for the can-ning and baking industries. Canada exported 26,274 tonnes of cranberries in 1998, mostly to the United States, where consump-tion is especially high during the winter festive season, in addition to year round consumption of juice. While Canadian fruit producers are competitive, they are often faced with higher costs than producers in countries with warmer temperatures and milder winters. The northern climate has forced the Canadian fruit industry to become a world leader in improving farm management and storage techniques. Canadian apples, for example, can be supplied almost year round using controlled atmosphere storage.
Fruits have a variety of end uses.
They can be enjoyed fresh or processed for use as juice, sauces, wines, ciders, dried fruit or jams and jellies. Fruit can be dried, canned or frozen for preservation. Other uses for fruits include flavouring, oils, dyes and cosmetics. Many of these products are also used by the bakery trade as well as by ice cream and yogurt manufacturers. An exciting development in the last decade is the number of new fruit varieties and production techniques adapted to the Canadian climate.