The New York herald., 1922-10-16
EGG HOARDERS FACE
LOSSES OF MILLIONS
Bought to Hoist Prices
Market Now ChOked
With Surplus.
BIG SUPPLIES ARRIVE
Fifty Million Dozen More
Than Last October Fill
Warehouses.
ADVOCATE LOWER COST
Some Dealers Contend 1t Is
Only Way to Get Out With
Whole Skin.
BIG SUPPLIES ARRIVE
ADVOCATE LOWER COST

The New York egg market confronts
its most critical condition of ten years.
Warehouses are choked with 50,-
100000 dozen more eggs than in Octo-
Der, 1921. Fresh supplies are arriving
in nearly double the quantity of last
year. The consumptive demand is so
slack that commission merchants and
dealers are alarmed.
There are in the metropolitan ware
houses about 100000 cases of thirty
dozen eggs each. Adding to this the
prospective supply to be received dur
ing the next three months, there will
be on the market for each of the
100000 inhabitants of the city nearly
$50 eggs from now until January 1.
Each resident must eat two eggs a
day to use up the old supplies before
Western crops arrive in December.
The situation owes it's existence to the
enormous amount of eggs stored last
spring in warehouses in the hope that
prices this autumn and winter would
permit high profits and to the unprece-
dented heavy production of poultry
farms The housewife is adding her bit
TO the tangle by refusing to buy at
high retail prices.
Storage Cos. Added.
For some time there has been much
speculation in the wholesale district as
to whether or not it were possible to
save the situation without the loss of
millions of dollars and eggs.
In the last two weeks the demand in
many parts of the city has been curbed
greatly by high retail prices.
But even though the price be made
sufficiently low to stimulate consump-
tion, the merchants are trying to answer
this:
Can the quantity now on the market.
in addition to the supply that will ar
rive, be consumed at any price before
the next crops come in?
The huge amount of eggs stored last
spring went into the warehouses at
net cost of from 27 to 80 cents
dozen. The carrying charges up to this
time amount to 3 cents a dozen more
making eggs cost from 80 to 33 cents
out of the warehouses.
One of the large chain stores last
August started selling storage eggs at
25 cents dozen. A big demand de-
veloped. Then retailers, both large and
small, commenced selling the storage
eggs as new laid and ran the price from
25 cents to so, So and CO. Consumption
was discouraged not by the quality but
the price.
oO,1O5 Cases I'm Week.
These methods dealt serious blow
to the storage egg business. The injury
has been complicated by fresh supplies.
The dealers are trying to determine q
price tonic to revive business.
There is only one way to save the
situation" said p. Q. Foy, editor of sew
eraI produce publications. Consumption
must be stimulated by selling at price
low enough to attract.
'Some of the leading merchants think
a retail price of 35 cents would be at
tractive. Others hold that any retail
price of over 20 cents, regardless of the
initial cost, will not stimulate buying
sufficiently to absorb the heavy quantity
now available before the advent of the
new crop, which commences from tire
Pacific States in December, followed by
carloads of eggs from Texas the last of
January and the 6rst of February.
Meanwhile there will be ample supplies
from southern SECTIONS Dy express. I
The New York retail market is recog-
nized as one of the most peculiar in
the world. The public here has de-
veloped a demand for fresh eggs in white
shells. Consequently. white eggs sell
for 20 Is cents dozen more than
brown eggs. although. of course, there is
no difference in the taste or quality.
Some other cities. notably Boston. pre-
fer brown shells. This color sells there
higher farfe
Because of the demand for fresh white
eggs the price of his grade has been
advancing steadily for several weeks.
saturday they brought on the wholesale
market from ~ TO SO cents. Retail
prices were 10 to 10 cents higher. At
the same time. brown and mixed eggs
sold for SO to so cents.
Cool weather brought an increased de-
mand for storage eggs, but because of
the quantity the prices remain at low
levels. which average about cents less
than the prices at this time last year.
Good to fancy storage were quoted Sat-
urday at % 10 80 cents.
Receipts Of eggs for the week
amounted TO 90105 cases Most Of these
came from the middle West and from
California. The nearby territory sup
plies very small percentage Of the
eggs which New York city eats. This
State stands sixth in the list of States
sending eggs here. Illinois comes first.
with Iowa, Indiana. Ohio and Missouri
all coming before New York State. Cali
fornia Is seventh.
AS to the pyramiding OF prices on
fresh eggs during the winter months
wholesale dealers in close touch with the
market are not inclined to look for ex-
treme high prices. They say the millions
of pullets that are commencing TO lay
will flood the market with fresh eggs
and keep the prices down. Another fac
\ tor is the great increase in poultry
throughout the country, due to recent
economic conditions.