The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1910-04-14
ENGLAND DEMANDS
OREGON APPLES

Henly :. ller, American Consu,
at Belts%t -r,...J, recently sent a re.
port markets of Europe
to v. -. \ ii, president OF the
Oregon It t oard of Hotirculure.
and Hln1or Of patagr .phs taken
from that r, po, are reprinted below.
1t is pant cuIaily interesting to rota
the prospects OF increasing the con
sumption o. Oregon fruit in England.
The remarks o. lower freight rates
with the op .liug OF the Panar a Canal,
'rrlgat-G SIpies and marketing
through associations will be very in
terestlng to Hood River apple growers s.
The report says:
''rhe United States share in this mar
ket to the extent of something over one
third, averaging for the past four
years 100000 per annum. Canada
is now our strongest competitor shar-
ing about equally with .us in the
amount of exports. Belgium ana
France are the next in trade, Australia
and Tasmania following. We are not
competitors it the Australian and Tas-
manian apple, because they come
into the markets at different time
of the year, mostly during Nav and
June, while our apples are almost
entirely Fall and Winter varieties,
The great bulk of apples in the
market of Great Britain are shipped
in barrels and measured by the Pacific
Coast standard of quality and pack,
are of a very inferior grade. The
consumption of apples in Great Britain.
however, is largely for cooking pur-
poses, and on this account it consumes
an enormous quantity of inferior and
low grade stock. The bulk of these
apples are bought by brokers from the
orchard, thrown into the barrels in
an indiscriminate and careless way and
shipped without any thought or care
for the reputation of the business.
This style and method of handling
fruit, when it is met by the superior
skill and care of growers and shippers
of the North Pacific Coast will be very
readily discovered in the trade.
Scabby, wormy, scaly fruit is the rule,
rather than the exception in the apples
shipped from the Atlantic Coast Of the
United States.
"If the Pacific Coast orchardists
continue to produce their present
high quality of stock, and improve
upon their methods of handling same
by superior packing and enlarged and
improved organizations of associations
for reliable grading and marketing,
there seems to be no reason why they
should not command the greatest part
of the apple trade of Great Britain. |
The most serious difficulty at present
standing in the way is not a sufficient
quantity, with a we'll establihed re-
putation of quality and grading. to-
gether with too high cost of transporta- |
ton. The reputation of Oregon apples
in the British market, now stands
highest of jail that are shipped from
any part of the world.
The present cost of transporting a |
box of apples to the European market
from the Pacific Coast is rs cents.
"rhe great market of the apples of
the Northwest in Europe can not well
begin until the completion of the
Panama Canal. Considerable quanti-
ties of good grade stock will find
market here from now on, at a profit
Ole rate, and shipment ought to in
,rease very materially every year, but
,he market for Pacific Coast apples
S not likely to reach into the million
lollar class until the completion of the
Panama Canal. By that time however,
shipments ought to reach in the mar
tets of Europe from three to six
million dollars per annum, and cost of
transportation should not be over
35 cents box.
"1f proper attention is given to this
great future market by the states of
Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the
oulk of these shipments can be made
rom Portland by refrigerator steamers
At rate not to exceed so percent
more than the regular merchandise
steamer rate. There is no apple-grow-
ng district of equal value in produc-
ion anywhere on the North American
Continent as close to tidewater as the