Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-12-29
Average Meat Prices
Here 124% Below
September Peak

Average prices OF most meat cut!
sold in Washington stores thiI
month are about 1914 per cent lowe
than they were at the mid-Sep.
TENDER peak, check Of advertisement!
for the two periods showed today
But, a spokesman for the whole
sale meat industry here warned
that both pork and beef prices are
showing signs OF going up again.
This may mean an end to the Low
retail prices of recent weeks, accord
ing to Sidney Kolker, chairman o,
the wholesale meat division of the
Merchants and Manufacturers
Association. He said meat price,
customarily rise after the holidays
"a result of q drop in slaughterine
activities.
Meanwhile, food prices posted fol
the rest of this week by stores
showed virtually no change from q
week ago. Steaks were still In the
bargain category, with several chains
and super markets offering porter
house and sirloin anywhere from u
to 81 cents q pound.
On the other hand, turkeys fol
New Years Day dinners were marked
at the same high figures as last
week-as much as 81 pound fol-
fancy dressed birds.
In Line With Nation.
The general price decline Of 1911
per cent for Washington was ir
line with an estimate made yes
terday by the American Meat In
stitute of retail meat price de-
clines in Chicago stores. The In
stitute placed the drop there at
13 per cent,
The general wholesale price Of all
meat in the Nation has dropped
about 10 per cent since the mid
peak. according to the
institute. Retail prices generally
lag behind wholesale price changes
by a week or more. however.
At the same time, a check with
advertisements shows that house
wives paid only about 6 per cent
less for their meats this month
compared with what they paid 1r
December Of last year. There are
several explanations for this. A
high rate of hog slaughter in the
fall and winter months tends t.
bring the average price for al
meats down during this period. Fol
lowing last winters advantageou!
pork prices, prices of both porl
and beef started upward in thu
spring and reached their peak las
September. Since that time, de.
clines have been general all along
the line.
Pork Leads Decline.
In Washington, pork led the
parade of lower meat cuts Offered
this month. A typical example was
the chain store average price Of 81
cents a pound for pork chops ir
September, compared with 81 cents
yesterday.
Chuck roast Is another price de.
cline leader-from SO to 40 cents
pound.
Round steak and hamburger both
fell off IA cents a pound-steaE
from an average of SO cents to 81
cents and hamburger from IS tc
81 cents.
Leg Of lamb and smoked ham
were down an average of 10 to IL
cents a pound from September
prices. Bacon, which has remained
fairly stable in price for some time,
was down 3 cents pound.
An important exception to the
picture was veal outlet, which was
selling yesterday in chain stores at
about s1.10 a pound, compared with
SO cents three months ago. Baking
chickens also were up an average
of 8 cents a pound from September S
55-cent figure.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
survey of Washington meat prices
as of November Is showed a SO per
cent drop between that date and
September Is. Experts are now
working on the mid-December fig
ures, expected to be released late in
January.
1t appears likely q further de-
cline will show up at that time,
although probably not as great as
the figure arrived at in the survey
of newspaper advertisements.