Evening star., 1938-07-23
FOOD INDUSTRY
VOLUME CLIMBS
Decline of 800 in Average
Prices Is Reported by
Wholesalers.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, July 23.-The food
products industry is one of the first
to feel the improvement in consumer
buying power that is the natural re-
suit of the spending lending program.
In its latest bulletin to the trade,
the American Institute Of Food Distri-
button, Inc, says THE startling change
In the food distributing organization
of the country during the last 80 days
Is difficult to reduce to figures" The
only real statistical evidence Is that
obtained by averaging the current
sales reports from wholesale grocers
and brokers.
"Of wholesalers reporting this
week." says the institute, 80 are
handling a dollar volume as great as
a year ago, in spite of a decline of
about 8 per cent in their average
prices. The other SO wholesalers re-
port an average shrinkage Of IL per
cent in their dollar billings, indicating
physical volume not off much from
year ago."
When these two groups OF reports
are combined, with allowance for lower
price levels now prevailing, the insti-
tute finds that "the wholesale grocers
are actually delivering more merchan-
disc now than at this time in 1887"
OF Is reporting food brokers, 13 are
up to or better than a year ago and
only are off in their dollar volume.
Apparently the step-up in the whole
sale food trade results from attempts
of retail distributors to anticipate an
improved volume of sales to con-
sumers, and perhaps some protective
action against the possibility of higher
prices. For retail volume has not kept
pace with activity at wholesale The
food institute finds that the average
of the daily sales of chains and large
retailers is still down about 10 per
cent, in dollars, although the North
Atlantic territory is commencing to
register an increase resulting from
more liberal buying by consumers. A
cautious increase in consumer buying
is in evidence in nearly all other ter
ritories, with the exception of the
cotton sections of the South and some
Middle Western industrial areas.
Food prices have started to rise in
the last week or two. In arriving at
its ost-of-living index for May. the
National Industrial Conference Board
set the food component at 808, as
compared with 81.1 in April. 1t found
that food prices in May were SO per
cent lower than in May, 1887, and
228 per cent lower than in May, 1929
But the increase over the low point of
1882 amounted to 1922 per cent.
The United States Labor Bureaus
index of wholesale food prices stood
at 1876 on July 8, as compared with
727 the week before and 868 on July
10, 1887. Two years ago that index
was 8l8 and, on July IA, 1884, it was
reported as 708.
One thing is always fairly certain
about the food industry, come good
times or bad times, and that is that
the tonnage will make slight gain
from year to year, or, at the worst, will
closely approximate that of the pre-
ceding year. The reason for that is
the constantly increasing total popu-
lation of the country and the demon
tstrated fact that the quality Of food
consumed varies more than the guam
tity. Tonnage of food consumption
tends to remain relatively stable in
relation to the number Of mouths the
Nation has to feed.
According to the statistical hounds
of the food industry, the per capita
consumption of food in the United
States runs to about 1900 pounds an
nually and, when We cut down on
T-bone steaks, we make it up On pork
and beans; so that annual variations
from that average are less than SO
pounds per person, or about 3ls per
cent.
Because 1887 was pretty prosper
Gus year, except for the last four
months, the dollar volume of food
sales ran about per cent over the
aggregate for 1886. On per capita
basis, preliminary estimates indicate
that we spent about S83 apiece for
food products purchased at retail
excluding hotels, restaurants and other
food service" esta tablishments--in 1887
Such store supplies, of course, were
supplemented by homegrown products
to large extent in rural districts and
small towns.
(Copyright. 1881