The daily sentinel., 1912-07-27
YAKIMA APPLES
ARE CONSIGNED

North Yakima, Wash, July 27.-I
Notwithstanding that both the Yaki-
ma Valley Fruitgrowers' association
and Horticultural union, in their
arrangements for marketing the pro-
ducts of their members this season,
have reserved the right 20 say at
what price the fruit shall be sold, and
that both will endeavor to market as
much as possible on a +. o. b. basis,
there are some independent dealers
who contend that little fruit will be
disposed of from the Yakima valley
this year except on a consignme
basis. and that as result of the mar
keting arrangements, made by the
association particularly, there is no
incentive for dealers to buy and pay
cash for fruit, because whatever they
may purchase in this way will neces-
sarily be sold in competition with the
fruit that is consigned.
F. H. Gilbert of Richey & Gilbert
Co, one OF the Independent dealers
who commented thus on the matter,
said that the firms he has done busi-
ness with in the past all advise him
that they do not care to go into the
deal on a f. o. b. basis this year, be-
cause they are satisfied that there
will be plenty of western fruit Of
fered on the auction markets, and
they can buy there with the certainty
that they will not be compelled to
pay a lower price for their fruit than
the other fellow.
Mr.. Gilbert suggested that If the
different. associations of the Pacific
Northwest would get together and
name a minimum price at which
their fruit would be sold, the situa-
tion would be much different. and in
dependent buyers could then figure
on something of a certainty, but
with practically all of them figuring
on consigning their fruit TO the auc-
tion markets of the big centers and
all in competition with one anotheN
there was no incentive for either
local or outside buyers to put their
money into apples in advance of the
time of their actual necessities.
Hence at this time, he sees little op-
portunity for the local buyer to do
any business.
]. NJ. Perry also quoted from a
letter Just received from one of the
outside firms with which he has done
much business in the past on a cash
basis, advising him that they do not
consider this an auspicious year for
speculative buying. but good sea-
son to sit tight" and market only on
the growers account.
MIR. Perry is also of the opinion
that there is little encouragement
for cash buyers this year, and that
while in 1910 there were many out
side dealers here who paid Csah for
their apples, this fall they will be
conspicuous for their absence, be-
cause they know they can supply
their wants from consignments byI
associations at the auction centers
He says his firm will continue to buy
fruit to fill orders, but that he does
not expect any great quantity of or
ders as long as present consignment
conditions prevail.
On the other side of this question
the different leaders of the Fruit
growers association argue that the
crop in the valley this season will be
much larger than ever before. and
that it is absolutely imperative that
If it is all to be sold at a fair mar
gin of profit to provide some means
for wider distribution than was ever
necessary in the past, and that it
would be suicidal to sit back and
wait for buyers to come here or send
in their orders.
They say that in order to success
fully market this largely increased
output, it is essential that the mar
kets of the world be secured by
trained men, and that the more men
engaged in the selling end the more
hope there is for local dealers, as
well as growers, because wider dis
tribution means less congestion att
this end
Therefore they claim that their
arrangement with the Atlantic Fruit
Distributors for the marketing of
their crop is really a benefit to the
cash buyer as well as to the inter
ests of the valley as a whole.
The recent cherry deal is pointed
to as proof of this contention by the
association officials, who claim that
if the surplus had not been assem-
bled in carlots and sent to the big
ger markets there would have been
such a glut in the local markets that
there would have been no profit in
cherries at ali for local dealers or
growers.
On the other hand the dealers
claim that, whereas most of the sales
of cherries in the east resulted in a
loss to the growers. il would have
been better to let cherries drop from
the trees, except such as were sold or
orders at a fairly profitable basis.
They say that they could have sold
much greater quantity of cherries
and paid cash for them, but for the
competition of the stuff consigned to
the auction markets, and that simi-
lar results are to be expected from
the apple deal