The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-08-10
CASH SALES OF
APPLES ARE URGED
(By W. S. DuckwalI, of Duckwall Bros.

(By W. S. DuckwalI, of Duckwall Bros. }
In the past three months. in travel
ing over territory from Pittsburgh,
Pa, to Omaha, Nebr.. have been
making a study of conditions and their
probable effect on the market for fruit
this fall, especially as regards western
box apples.
have been impressed with the fact
that nowhere in the east is there a
noticeable shortage of apples this year.
/ In one Jonathan orchard in Missouri,
where they had a crop of 1853 barrels
| last season, the owner is expecting to
market 10000 barrels of apples this
year. / talked TO a number of growers
in this section, where the difference In
yield was almost as marked. This dis
similarity. of course, applies to those
sections where the apple crcp- was al
most total failure last year. | was in
sections where there was crop of APP
pies last year and the difference in
yield this season varies from 80 to 40
per cent less than last year, to from
100 to 200 per cent increase. With the
crop of the Northwest only slightly
under that of last season, we have an
apple crop this year the largest with
one exception IN the history of the APP
pie growing industry.
The convention of international APP
pie Shippers, July rs to % at Seattle,
was the most largely attended of any
held in any section of the country.
There were, however, fewer buyers at
this convention than any held in recent
years. The bigger dealers, old expert
enced buyers, came to this convention
confessing frankly that they did not
know what would be true basis for
values this year. They were all free,
however, in expressing the opinion that
prices would have to be materially re-
duced in order to have them feel justi-
fed in making any purchases. In ad-
dition there were considerable num-
Der who declared their intention of
buying nothing at all this year, but
depending wholly on consignment ship
ments. In the face of these condi- |
tions, offers of $l.75 to 81 box did |
not develop any sales.
Today we have a position in which |
the apple dealers and buyers are await |
ing prices at which they have hope of |
making margin of profit on their in
vestment. We are of the opinion that |
unless this above situation develops |
within the next 80 days we will have
what some of the commission men in
the east are hoping for, namely a con-
signment market.
Our judgment and also that expressed |
by number of buyers is that apples
can be moved on a cash basis in this
period, at a small margin of profit to
the growers, shippers and dealers. We
believe that if the growers of the val
ley would look at the situation in this
light, that we would escape the fiuctu-
alton in prices similar to two years
ago. when the cash price dropped from
So. 25 to 81 box during the season.
We believe that with free movement
of apples in the early months of the
shipping season and with the increased
buying power of the public over last
year, that we would have possibility
of slightly higher market later in the
season.
We have an inquiry today for 80 cars,
of Yellow Newtowns and SpitzenbuTgs,
but we realize that in order to make
any sales, they will have to be made
at prices that are attractive to the
buyer.