The New York herald., 1921-02-13
DROP IN PRODUCE
NO BOON TO PUBLIC
Wholesalers Overstocked, but
Retail Prices Remain at
Old Level.
FARMER ALWAYS LOSER
Transportation and Other
Charges Absorb All His
Profits.

Are retail dealers IN fruits and vegeta-
bies giving consumers the benefit of the
present low wholesale prices? DR.. Eu-
gene II. Porter. State Commissioner of
Foods and Markets. raised the question
yesterday in a discussion OF the pro-
nounced fall OF wholesale prices and of
the consequent plight of the farmer. He
notes. too, that newspaper publicity dis
courages profiteering in food.
Wholesale prices for fruits and vege-
tables have gone down so low In the
New York market In the last few weeks
that many farmers who shipped produce
here have received nothing in return but
bill for tho balance Of the freight" the
Commissioner said.
mot only have prices declined to the
point where the farmer Is getting little
or nothing for what he produces after
transportation charges are paid but
even at the low wholesale prices the de-
mand is light. Stores OF commission
merchants In the Washington street
wholesale section are filled with perish
able produce they are unable to sell even
at prewar prices. Jobbers. retailers and
hucksters are buying In limited quanti-
ties. from day to day. and the consuming
public. for some reason or other, seems
to be eating less than usual. Farmers
and wholesale dealers believe this situa-
ton is due to the fact that the retail
trade Is not giving people the benefit OF
the low wholesale prices.'
Farmers Are Sufferers.
~
over the country are suffering such Sc
we're losses that they are experiencing
great difficulty In financing their opera
tions for next season. Many are plan
ming to reduce their acreage OF planting.
Southern growers are particularly hard
hit. A grower in Sanford. Fla, shipped
a carload of 400 crates of lettuce which
sold here for S33s.4S. The freight alone
amounted to S33975. and icing. war tax,
carriage and commission brought the
shippers expense up to a total of
S491.65. The grower actually owed a
bill Of $152.17 to the commission man
here. A grower in Laredo, Tex, sent
carload Of 756 bushel baskets OF spinach
to this city. The shipment brought
S467.35 on the market Freight charges
and other charges made the cost
s720.66.
California growers are similarly sit
uated. For example, a shipment OF 172
crates of celery from Knightstar, Cal,
brought only 1859, but the bill to the
shipper came to $626.66. Farmers are
actually paying commission men a pre-
MUM for the privilege Of shipping food
to this city.
Transportation Kills Prohts.
New York State farmers are in as
bad a plight" continued Commissioner
Porter. Dozens of them have shipped
carloads of cabbages, onions, potatoes.
apples, carrots and celery 10 the mar
ket in the last few days only to re-
ceive net returns so small as to pay
little more than the cost of production. !
A carload of 250 sacks of onions from
central New York brought only rs cents
a 100 pound bag. When the freight
charges of $S015 were paid the farmer
got net return OF about % cents q
bag, and the bags cost him from 10 to
20 cents apiece.
Potatoes which brought IS to $3.50
a barrel this time last year are now
selling at S2.25 barrel of $50 pounds. |
A carload received here from Genesee
county this week brought the farmer.
after he had paid freight and other |
charges, only about s1.5o barrel Last
year cabbage brought from $40 to 500
a ton wholesale. Now the farmer does |
well to get from sl2 to s15 a tom
Commissions Porter said the publicity !
given last week % the big drop in the |
price of eBgs V vholesale was quickly !
followed by reduction In tho retail |
price. This in turn brought such an in |
crease in consumption that the whole |
sale price went up cents last Thurs |
day and 10 cents on Friday. At the |
close of the weeks market fancy hem
merry white eggs sold for 81 to 5S cents
a dozen, fancy browns at 40 to 46 cents
and fresh Western eggs at 43 TO A
cents. Butter went UP one cent a
pound TO As cents for the finest salted, |
while unsalted was 46 20 4s cents.