Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-04-26
Fruit, Vegetable Price Control
Is Highly Involved Procedure
OPA Formula Ceilings Are Not Revealed
To Consumers, but Prevent High Costs
By NORMAN A, KAHL,

To Consumers, but F
BY NORMAN A. KAHL.
Most of the important fruits and
vegetables are now under some form
of price control, but the ceilings are
a secret between the dealers and
the OPA.
In the parlance of the OPA, these
maximum prices are known as for
mula ceilings" and there is prac-
tically no way for the consumer to
find out what they are in terms of
dollars and cents. Even if the
housewife could figure out the cell
ings. she probably would make the
disillusioning discovery that the
high prices she is paying for pro-
duce, as revealed in yesterdays Star,
are legal and have the blessing of
Federal anti-infation authorities.
In the first place, most of the
ceilings are subject to change by re-
tailers every Thursday. So even if
it were possible to figure out the
| ceilings of a certain grocer, these
prices would not necessarily stand
up for more than a week.
Process Is Complicated.
To get the ceilings you would have
to pry pretty deeply into a dealers
business affairs. You would have
to know how much business he did
in 1941 and with what kind of
wholesale house he deals. Then you
would have to dip into his books
to find out what he pays for the
fruits and vegetables he is offering
for sale, after which you would have
to apply the OPA's formula of
markupS.
OF course, the housewife can ask
the grocer what his ceilings are,
and on a few cOmmoidities-such as
potatoes, onions, bananas and citrus
fruits-he is supposed to post his
maximum prices. But each dealers
ceilings are likely to be different
from other maximum prices in his
! community, and if the housewife is
skeptical, there isn't much she can
do except confide her suspicious to
the OPA.
An investigator, armed with ap-
propriate authority, can then cross
examine the grocer, look into his
books and determine whether or not
the regulations are being violated.
The OPA admits all this is a
complicated and not too satisfactory
procedure. 1t would be much better.
officials say, If dollars and cents
ceilings could be placed on fresh
fruits and vegetables at the retail
level so that the housewife could
quickly check up on prices, as she
will be able to dc on all kinds of
meat after May II.
Produce Is Perishable.
The trouble is, according to the
OPA, that fresh fruits and vegetables
are highly perishable, and the flow
OF these commodities into the mar
ket is subject to constantly changing
weather conditions. Even in normal
years, it is pointed out, prices
fluctuate from day to day depending
on the supply and demand. AS a
result, even the ceilings. which are
applied usually at the shipping
points, have been drawn up on a
Week-by-week basis, allowing in
creases and decreases according to
the season.
Potatoes might be used to get a
rough idea of how these ceilings
work out. This is a hypothetical
example because potatoes are nom
existent on the Washington market
anyway. A basic shippers price
is set up on potatoes, and this NAV
vary from week to week. Before
the potatoes reach the local whole
saler the following items may be
added: Freight charges, excise
taxes If any, 10 cents a hundred
pounds If they are insured in tran
Slt, ~ cents hundred pounds if
the potatoes are more than two
inches in diameter and another 10
cents If they are grade stock.
To all of this the wholesaler adds
his markup, the extent of which
VIII depend on what kind of a
place he has. Finally the retailer
is allowed to add from % to SO pec
cent, depending on whether he is
an independent or chain store
and on the volume of business he
did in 1941.
Figuring out the ceiling price of
carrots also offers opportunities for
a mathematician. Ceilings are
listed on six different kinds of car
rots-bunched California, punched
Arizona. punched Texas, topped
California, topped Texas and topped
old nearby. The average housewife
doesn't know, and doesn't care
whether the carrots she buys come
from California or Harold Ickes'
farm, but if she wants to know
what the ceiling on them Is. she's
got to know.
Prices Vary.
The prices run from 50 to $3.50
bushel for topped carrots and
from $495 to $5.75 a crate of six
dozen for punched carrots. These
are terminal ceilings, to which the
wholesaler may add from 91s to %
per cent, depending on the category
into which he falls. If he has a
retail-owned cooperative or CASH
and-carry establishment, he may
mark up the terminal price by 9,k
per cent.
If he has a retail-owned CO.
operative or cash-and-carry place
which buys from another whole
saler. he gets 20 per cent markup.
If he is service wholesaler buying
directly from the terminal, he is
permitted 17h per cent markup;
and If he is a service wholesaler buy
ing from another wholesaler, he gets
q % per cent markup.
The retailer finally is permitted
another 80 per cent markup on
whatever price he has paid. And
the cost to him. of course, depends