Evening star., 1947-01-01
Shipping Costs Hinder
Export Of Surplus
Potatoes 10 Europe

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Government officials are making
every effort to erase the spectacle Of
great quantities Of potatoes rottins
on American farms while people
abroad clamor for food.
So far, however, there have been
few takers of United States offers
to foreign countries to purchase-at
bargain rates-large stocks of usable
potatoes.
There are number of reasons for
this reluctance on the part of for
eign governments to Jump at the
opportunity to buy American spuds
at what appears on the surface to
be ridiculously low rates.
Calory 'Yardstick.'
This is the way A, e. Mercker,
acting chief Of the potato division
of the Production and Marketing
Administration, explains the situa-
ton:
when you talk about shipments
(of food overseas, then you have to
think in terms of caloric value. 1t
takes five or six pounds OF raw
potatoes to make UP the same Ca
loric value as one pound of wheat.
I'VE have offered foreign govern
ments up to 10000 bushels of
fresh potatoes at a price equal only
to the cost of transporting them
from producing areas to seaports.
But it. looks as though we will have
only one taker, although we hope
for more"
Troubles begin, however, when the
potatoes arrive at shipside. There Is
the problem, for instance, Of pre-
heating ships holds before the pro-
duct is loaded, and potatoes require
special handling. Unlike grain, po-
tatoes cannot be pumped aboard
ship.
Shipping Costs Higher.
Mr.. Mercker estimates it costs
sl.85 per 100 pounds to ship potatoes
across the Atlantic, exclusive of
loading and unloading costs or a
per cent wastage insurance.
Against this figure is his estimate
of .051 cents per 100 pounds for ship
ping unmilled wheat overseas.
A similar disparity in costs occurs
in dehydrated potatoes. MIR. Mercker
says the cost Of dehydrating Amer
lean potatoes and shipping them to
shipside ranges from Is to SO cents
a pound. To deliver wheat at the
same port would cost only 036 cents
a pound.
I'VE have even offered to furnish
rsw potatoes to dehydrating plants
for foreign shipments at token
price, but there have been no
takers" he declared.
Even without the transportation
costs posing stumbling block to
any potato program, there is the
problem of Europe's lack of refriger-
ated cars to protect the potatoes
against heat or cold, once they are
unloaded abroad. Without proper
protection, the potatoes would never
reach interior points of country
without great danger of spoilage.
Distilling Demand Drops.
When grain was scarce during the
war and up until recently, there
was q big outlet for surplus potatoes
in the distilling industry. But this
outlet has dried up now that corn
and other grains are available.
From the time the Government
began buying potatoes last April to
support the price, it disposed of
these amounts up to December 10:
distillation, $4,000 600 bushels; re-
sales for livestock feeding, 1880 900
bushels; school lunch programs, l.
067 900 bushels; starch manufac-
turers, 5000, 900 bushels; to Belgium,
$50, 900 bushels, and to potato flour
makers, 450,000 bushels.
That brings the total Of Govern
ment disposals to close to $4,000, 900
bushels as against a United. States
held surplus of 100000. 900 bushels.
MIR. Mercker figures that If every
one in the country ate an additional
ounce Of potatoes day, that 100,-
600 0,o00- -bushel surplus would soon
have disappeared.