Evening star., 1943-04-05
Markets Here
Bare Of Poultry
AtAny Price
Even Black Market
Empty Dealers Soy,
Bluminq OPA
BY NORMAN A. KAHL


Even the black market here was
out Of poultry today.
Poultry dealers who have been in
the business for years said they have
never before been through a period
when 1t was impossible to obtain
fowl of any kind. A wholesale house
which normally handles about IS
per cent of the poultry business for
the city reported it had not a bird
OF any kind in the house.
Smaller wholesalers and most re-
tailers were similarly cleaned out.
with no definite hope that the situa-
ton would improve in the next
few days. Many retailers, with
nothing to sell, closed shop entirely
today.
OPA price ceilings, which were
blamed for having created the
"blackest of all black markets and
feVerlsh buying of poultry in nearby
areas during the past few weeks by
New York and Philadelphia dealers
were listed by the poultry men as
the chief reasons for the shortage.
They admitted that meat rationing
had Increased the demand for un-
rationed fowl. but they pointed out
that they have been unable to obtain
anywhere near the birds they could
nave sold during the past few weeks.
Nearby Suppliers Raided.
According to several of the mer-
chants, who said there was nary
pin feather" on their premises TODAY,
buyers from New York and Phil
adelphia have been raidine the
Eastern Shore of Maryland and the
Valley of Virginia and taking every
bird they could lay their hands on
TO the thriving black markets of the
Northern cities. These BUYERS it
was reported, are Offering from to
40 cents a pound more for chickens
to the producers than wholesalers
here are legally allowed to charge
under the OPA ceilings.
Ducks-legal ducks, anyway-have
been absent from the WASHINGTON
market for long time, it was re-
ported. Most of these come from
Long Island, where the 35-cents-a-
pound wholesale price for live ducks
is more than the OPA's maximum
price here. Turkeys. geese. guinea
hens and SQUAD have likewise been
scarce here for some time.
One wholesaler said he had sent
agents out into the Valley of Vir-
glnla today with their pockets bulg-
ing with greenbacks."
we shall see what will happen"
he said. But he was none too
optimistic. He said his men had
been securing the valley last week
and were offering one or two cents
pound more for live chickens than
the farmers ought to be getting.
Laughed at U.s."
But they only laughed at us and
said they could do better" the
wholesaler reported.
Most OF the poultrymen were not
too bitter about the local black mar
ket.
You can't blame the dealers"
one OF them said. They've got to
stay in business. and they can't
do 1t unless they charge prices
above the ceilings. These fellows
aren't proflteers or they'd be chare-
Ing more than the few excess pen
MES per pound that they're asking"
Another dealer cited the case of
an Eastern Shore chicken producer
who. he said, had netted a profit of
$4,000 for flock of $4,000 chickens
which it took him IA weeks to raise,
Shipments from the West. it was
SAID. have stopped almost entirely.
Producers can get as much for their
birds out there, dealers here said,
as they could if they shipped them
to Eastern markets. So they're not
bothering to send them away.
Call for Source Ceiling.
The poultry men agreed that until
ceiling prices are imposed on poul-
try at the source, black markets will
continue to flourish. EVERYBODY
along the line. they explained, must
work under ceilings except the pro-
ducer, who, they charged, is cap
italizing on the situation.
DOllafS-anQ-CentS ceiling prices
were put on poultry based on Chi
cago prices last December l8, the
OPA said today Until March l6,
retailers were still supposed to sell at
ceilings based on their highest prices
between September % and October
2. In March. however. retailers also
went under ceilings. based on a 20
per cent markup of the wholesale
cost.
The highest retail price in this
area for grade A fryer. weighing
three and four pounds. according to
the OPA. should be AZ cents. Other
poultry prices should be in line with
this, it was said.