The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-10-30
BOTTOM OF PRICES ON GRAPE
FRUIT DROP OUT IN NORTH
ERN MARKETS AS RESULT
OF GREEN GLUT
THE TRIBUNE INVESTIGATES
FORTY CENTS A BOX QUOTED IN
ONE CITY
Immature Fruit Being Rejected By
Carload-Consumers Refuse 1t
Glut Follows

day, October 49,
For the purpose of ascertaining the
effect on Northern markets of the
early shipment of immature grape
fruit by shippers who disregard the
| new Florida green fruit law, The
Tribune has sent out through its ex-
elusive channels to many of these
markets for information as to the
real condition prevailing. Responses
to these kilograms received yester-
day indicate that the situation is
fraught with the greatest danger to
the growers of this state who have
enemies enough to contend without
shippers from their own State aiding
in the destructive work
These kilograms show the bottom
has fallen out of prices, that fruit is
! being rejected by the carload and
that even the consumers are drawing
the line on such fruit by refusing to
put it upon their tables. The better
| class of hotels are declining to serve
it to their customers and, as natural
consequence there has been a glut of
such fruit on the market sending
prices so low that it will be hard to
bring them back again, if not alto
gether, so if this practice is to be con-
tinued. In one city green grapefruit
has been sold at from forty cents to
81 box.
At the end of the last shipping sea-
son, Florida grapefruit occupied a po-
sition in the market of greater
strength than at any previous time.
| The last of the fruit to go out Of the
State in the spring of 1912 was sold
at fancy prices in every case where
the quality was good. The concluding
sales of the Florida Citrus Exchange
were made at from $500 to $500 a
box, f. o. b. packing house, and its av-
erage for the season 1911-1912 was
| 1888 per box f. o. b.
| When the present season opened
on October l, there was every oppor-
F.. tunity to maintain the prestige gained
last year and to secure correspond
ingly good prices for the 1912 crop.
Early sales were made at from 81 to
| $40 a box, f. O. b. Immediately after
the first of October, shippers began
to rush fruit into the market, how
ever, most of it so green and lmma-
ture as to be unfit for consumption,
and prices at once went on the tobog-
gan. going steadily downward day by
day.
Green Fruit Refused.
| The Tribue's investigation show
that in the territory covered by the
educational advertising campaign of
| the Florida Citrus Exchange last year,
the class of consumers who are in po-
sition to pay good prices for quality
fruit absolutely will not take the kind
of stuff that has been shipped out of
the State within the past two weeks.
AS a natural result, the dealers who
cater to this class of trade have re-
| fused to buy the inferior fruit offered
them In order to dispose of it all,
prices have had to be cut by the ship
pers, and in this way some dealers
who supply less intelligent consumers
have been induced to stock up. Even
at the cut prices, however, many ship
pers are finding difficulty in dispos-
ing of the fruit.
| In order to get the latest and most
accurate information in regard to the
status of the market, the Tribune au-
thorized its representatives in the
several important cities to make a
careful investigation of the situation.
The special dispatches published be-
low show the degree to which the
markets have been demoraliZed by
the shipment into them of fruit OF
poor quality. 1t is noticeable that
| even where grapefruit of compare
lively good grade has been offered,
the price conditions existing have
prevented the shippers from getting
anything like the prices to which