The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-03-04

@AAeANA1 -
The second dealer, who was recently
interviewed, handles honey, eggs, cof
fee, jam, jelly, chutney, pia, taro flour,
sweet potatoes, lines, pomelos and a
number of other Hawaiian products,
almost all of which are obtained from
the Island of Oahu. This dealer has
experienced difficulty in obtaining
such products rs he handles from the
other Islands. The difficulties, as he
thinks, are largely concerned with
| transportation. Floral honey, unmix.
ed with honey-dew honey, finds a ready
sale in considerable quantity, both in
bulk and in bottles. If one considers
the fact that this honey can he OBJ
tanned mt about one-tenth the price of
imported honey, it seems as If a larger
quantity of it should be used locally.
The dealer in question handles only
Island eggs. He is unable to obtain
as many as he wishes for his trade, but
whenever he has no Island eggs, he
can not satisfy sthe demand of his
trade for eggs for the reason that he
refuses to handle imported eggs. The
latter brand of eggs is sometimes fair
ly satisfactory, and sometimes quite
unsatisfactory, and the dealer thinks
it best to lose the profit, which could
be made from handling case eggs,
rather than take the chance of disap-
pointing his trade with eggs of poor
quality. The same experience was re-
lated in regard to sweet potatoes lines
Q and various other products, as was
noted before, namely, that the sweet
potatoes lack uniformity and are not
regularly supplied; and that lines are
not available in sufficient quantities.
= 1t was definitely asserted that if more
. of these commodities could be obtained
, at regular intervals the local trade
, could be greatly increased.
A commission man, who was next
l interviewed, handles considerable of
8 the corn which is sent from Maui. He
stated that the local market for corn
:, could be increased and that the demand
1 is already in excess of the supply. He
t mas found the supply irregular, but the
n corn which he obtains is fairly salts
= factory to the trade and completes sue
:, cessfully with imported corn. The
4 dealer asserts that the growers OF
+ Maui can meet Seattle prices on corn
A and make reasonable profit.
a Dry beans can not at any time be
, obtained in sufficient quantities for the
local trade, and if supplied regularly
to Honolulu would be shipped by the
g dealer in question to the Coast. This
. would furnish an outlet for an indef
mite quantity of dry beans of several
varieties.
L A fourth dealer is alss interested il
the corn crop. His trade requires corr
T of small, yellow kernel; much of the
:, corn which is supplied him has too
IL large kernels. 1t is also desirable thai
=, the corn should be kiln dried. About
m 1000 bags of corn are imported an
ID nually,-part of it from Manchuria
=. Cracked corn, prepared on Hawaii
u satisfies the demands of the trade a
u, to quality, and could be used locally il
larger quantities than are now sup
1t piled. During the period from De
n cember to June far more onions, thar
- are now grown here, could be used local
III ly and would be welcomed at 3A cent
If per pound. Garlic, which can be read
10 lily grown in Hawaii, is imported a
"A the rate of two tons monthly and sell
for ga cents per pound. Beans, boil
~ Lima, calico, white and other varieties
W are imported by this one firm to tn
e. extent of 100000 annually. All o
In these could be grown in Hawaii an'
would be preferred to the imported
article.
IS. The corn growers of Maui say tina
II. the price received for corn is too low
or and that there is little or no prof
in growing corn at the present prices
The method of marketing the corn
however, is responsible to large ex
tent for the unsatisfactory returns t
g the grower. 1t is common thing TO
four or five dealers to receive shipment
y of corn on the same day, and the deal
RS ers are expected to pay whatever pric
10 they can from the standpoint of thei
own profits in the business. The grow
= ers appear to assume that if their cor
shipments are divided among numbe
G. of dealers a competition in price vii
81 thus be accomplished, so that they viii
~ therefore, receive higher price tina
y otherwise for their corn. As matte
al of fact, this manner of marketing bring
he about exactly opposite effects. Fac
d dealer, in determining the price whic
he can pay for corn, must first stop
!" consider whether some other dealer
be not paying less and will therefore be j
ty a position to undersell him to the trad
,is Competition is, therefore, downwar'
rather than upward, since the dealer
TO- naturally can not take chance of pa,
he ing more than some other dealer ha
en- paid. 1t is only too evident that man
~ growers fail to recognize the fact thi
ID.
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