Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-03-27
MEETING OF TONATOCANNERS
Discussing Plans for the APP
preaching Season.
THE SITUATION PROBLEMA1ICAL
Many Farmers Are Demanding
High Prices.
Indication That the supply of Tomatoes
win he Curtailed and the Raw Material
win He More Expensive Than the Ruling
Prices Heretofore.

The executive committee II the
American Packing Association, which
represents nearly all of the tomato can
ners on the Peninsula, held meeting
at the Clayton House in this city Fri
day afternoon, at which prospects
for the coming season and plans were
discussed. The members of the com
mittee decline to give out any definite
information as to their plans until the.
arrangements fer the seasons work
have been perfected. Meetings are held
at frequent intervals, in order that the
association can keep in touch with
what is going on in the agricultural
world, and they will not be able for
scms time to make any definite ar
! rangemepts tor the future.
As matter ct fact ESs ssyuation is
prohlematicai at tt.ie time and will be
until the planting begins, and in fact
! for some time after that. 1t was
| learned frarl one Of the members of the
| organization, that the conditions indi-
cate higher prices tEan have heen the
rule some years when tie tomato crop
| was large and prices OF raw material
we're low. Consequently. no prediction
| can he made at this time relative to
| the prices next fall.
The members of the association have
/ heen making inquiry among farmers III
| different sections of the Peninsula and
have learned that the conditions are
| different in different places. For III
! stance, in some places the farmers are
! willing to make reasonable contracts
! with the capners and to plant q large
! acreage in tomatoes, while in ether
/ places they are steering clear of toma
| toes as much as possible, unless they
can make contracts at fancy figures.
! Six dollars per ton seems to be next to
| an mpossiblity. Many CT the Gamers
have made contracts, but usually at
either 81, $3.50 or SO rer ton, and in
some instances the price was higher
than SS The Gamers are loath TO go
above that figure, however, and only
few contracts have been made to exceed
that figure. As the tomato crop las
year was failure, many of the farmers
have expressed an intention of raising
corn instead of tomatoes, which will,
without doubt, very materially ourtail
the supply of tomatoes, provided some
new condition does not arise that is not
now anticipated. Therefore, il looks
very much as if there will be short
supply Of tomatoes and higher prices
than ruled heretofore, but the Gamers,
it is understood, intend to run on mar
row margins and will keep the prices
of the canned goods down as low as
possible.
The conditions were so peculiar last
year that it is an impossibility to make
calculations at this time. During the
summer of 1900 there was a glut of
! tomatoes in some sections and some of
the farmers, in the height of the season,
were selling their tomatoes as low as
"a per ton. Six dollars was the ruling
price, and last spring, when the con-
tracts were being made nearly all were
at the So rate, and the Gamers made
! preparation for large supplies. The
} season had scarcely opened, however,
, when it was evident to everybody that
the crop was going to be failure, and
, deliver one-half what they had con-
tracted for. Consequently, as the can
ners had made their contracts with the
wholesale houses, they were in a
peculiar predicament. Most of them
had contracted to furnish certain
number of cans, and in order to do il
, it was either necessary to pay fancy
prices for iUl,i;4T@ga from farmers with
/ whom they had 10 contracts or buy
from more fortunate Gamers. Many
lost money.
At this time year ago spot goods
sold at 6T cents per dozen, and future
sales commanded Y is. Before the
end of the year 80 cents was readily OBJ
tanned and now tho >. elk is in demand
at 81. 80. This was due to the short
! supply as result of failure of the
crop. No predictions can be made fol
! this years crop for some time.