Evening star., 1947-04-23
tobacco Sales Held
10 ~ as Growers
RejectLow Prices

The tobacco auction season at
Upper Marlboro got off to a slow
start today as Maryland growers
refused sale after sale of their prod
uct in the towns three warehouses
because of low bids.
OF the nearly 100000 pounds of
tobacco offered for sale at the ware
houses, only an estimated per cent
was actually sold by noon.
Prices varied between low OF
is cents a pound and top price
OF 81 cents. One warehouse, the
Marlboro Tobacco Market, finished
it's days sales within an hour after
the auction started.
Opinions on Slump Varied.
The majority of the growers
either folded in half the list cards
on top of the tobacco baskets, in
dicating that they were not for sale
today, or rejected sales which were
made on the floor.
A wide difference Of opinion ex-
listed between the buyers and the
sellers as to why the Southern
Maryland leaf was not bringing good
prices at the market opening.
Growers, asserting their crop is
of exceptionally high quality, COM
planned that buyers are trying to
knock the market average down.
Many buyers, on the other hand,
insisted much of the leaf was not
of the good texture of last years
crop.
5000 to 4,000 at Sales.
Spokesmen for the Department of
Agriculture, however, previously as
serted that the Southern Maryland
tobacco crop of about 10000, 900
pounds, is of better quality than last
years.
The second Upper Marlboro ware
house, the Planters Market, con-
tinued to sell during the morning
and the third, the Edelen Bros, was
scheduled to begin selling this
afternoon.
Police estimated there were 5000
or 1000 persons in Marlboro today
for the sale.
The Agriculture Departments to-
bacco branch at Baltimore reported
that high-quality smoking grades
averaged So cents pound at OPEN
ing sales yesterday in Charles
County. This was l cent pound
less than the opening average last
year.
The department said medium and
lower grades averaged as follows:
Heavy, fair light red, IS cents,
compared with SO cents last year.
Heavy, fair dark red, 54 cents,
compared with Sc cents last year.
Dark red tips, So cents, compared
with So cents last year.
Other Markets to Resume.
Sales we're scheduled to be re-
suIned today at warehouses at Wal
dorf, La Plata and Hughesville
where the markets were opened
yesterday.
AS the Maryland tobacco market
got underway yesterday, almost q
month ahead of schedule because oi
an unusually heavy crop, bidding
was desulatory and growers rejected
as too low most Of the bids.
At La Plata, where high bid oil
63 cents a pound was reported, P
D. Brown, county agent, said tht
concensus of growers was that the
lower grades were selling well, but
that the better grades were selling
for about 10 cents pound too low
No Great Alarm Shown.
At Waldorf about 10000 pound.
were on the floor at the opening sale
e. L. Parker, warehouse manager
said the floor capacity is about
10000 pounds. The highest bic
registered was 65 cents a pound.
Experienced observers were mo-
greatly alarmed by yesterdays fail.
ures to establish a market. The frs
days bidding, they explained, al.
ways is a sparring match between
buyers representing the big manu-.
featuring companies. Each want.
the other to break the ice.
| Observers also pointed out tha
a large quantity of the tohacct
offered for the first days sale wa.
Of inferior quality. While the Mary.
land crop is said to consist of 1
high percentage of the prime quail.
ity smoking leaf observers said mos
growers hold back their better
grades until after the market is es.
tablished.
Economic Difficulties Seen, -
Yesterdays developments brougf1
from bankers, businessmen ans
farmers predictions OF economi,
difficulties for the tobacco-producin,
counties Of Prince Georges, Ann,
Arundel, Charles, st. Marys an,
Calvert unless higher prices ar
obtained.
They explained that farmers OBJ
tanned more loans on the 1916 har
vest than on any previous Gro
because s11 600 900 gross income wa
/, lost to the area when the I945 GRO
| grown on an acreage 20 per cen
under 1914, a normal year, yielde
r 80 per cent less than the average
iUnfavorable weather was biamaed.