Evening star., 1950-02-10
District Imports
'CheapPotatoes
From Canada
Two Countries Swap
Sales as East Avoids
Price-Supported Crop

American and Canadian pota-
toes were on merry-go-round TO-
day.
Potatoes from Eastern Canada
are being shipped into the United
States-and into Washington-in
large quantities while West Coast
American potatoes are finding a
market in Western Canada.
Commission men handling po-
tatoes here said that if Washing
ton is not already eating more
Canadian than Maine potatoes it
soon will be.
They said also that Senators
land Representatives probably are
4eating Canadian potatoes while
discussing the Government sup
port price which keeps the price
high for domestic potatoes.
The Agriculture Department is
struggling with the problem of
disposing of a domestic surplus of
from 25,000.0o0 to 10000, 600
bushels.
L Sold for Cent.
The Government is offering the
potatoes at / cent a hundred
pounds - for which it pays an
average of $1.85. These resold
potatoes, after being dyed blue,
would be spread on the ground as
fertilizer" or used as livestock
feed. .s.
Commission men say that Cana
dian potatoes can be delivered in
Washington for $2.85 to $3.50 per
hundred pounds, against a price of
$3.05 to $3,l3 for Maine potatoes.
G. P. Iversen, 1918 Maine avenue
lS.W., who received a carload
(about $50 bushels) of Canadian
potatoes yesterday. said he would
rather have had the Maine prod
act but competition forced him to
take advantage of the 23-cent diff
ferential in favor of the Canadian
crop.
The imported potatoes are from
New Brunswick and are of excel
lent quality, he said.
Jack M. Herbsleb of Glove g.
Davis, Inc, 1877 Maine avenue
S.W., said his company has re-
ceived five or six carloads of
Canadian potatoes and more are
on the way.
| Jack S. Howard said he had re-
ceived Is to 20 cars of Canadian
potatoes and is expecting more.
MIR. Howard of the T. Clifton
Howard Co.. 434 Eleventh street
S.W., acts as broker between the
shipper and buyer. He said four
or five other brokers here prob
ably have handled as many cars
as he. "a
While this is going on In WASH
ington a shipper in Ellensburg,
Wash. said hissf1rm has sent 4O0,-
600 pounds of Kittitas Valley
spuds to Vancouver, B. c., in the
last three weeks.
Maurice Balcom, the shipper.
said Western Canada dealers find
it cheaper to import American
potatoes than to bring them from
Eastern Canada. He said the
price on his potatoes is 1925 a
hundred pounds, delivered.
Canadians Get Less.
Maine growers get $1.65 per
hundred pounds in bulk on the
farms under the American sup
port price, and get $2.15 for DO
tatoes in sacks loaded in the cars,
according to an Agriculture De-
| partment expert.
The same expert said the Cana
dian farmer gets 80 cents per
hundredweight at the shipping
point; freight is IS cents, duty is
Is cents and other charges bring
the price here to the $2.85-$2.9O
figure.
He said the Maritime Provinces
OF Canada had a 1949 crop of
2,355,0o0 bushels larger than the
1948 crop. In 1948, he said g..
100000 bushels of Canadian po-
tatoes came into the United
States and it is expected that for
the year ending next June 80 the
importation will amount to 49,
100000 to 100000 bushels.
That is. he added. if the impor-
tation is not diminished by the
low prices the Canadian farmer
receives, or if measures are not
taken under the Agricultural Act
to limit imports. The Canadians
aren't making any money out Of
the business, he said, "but after
all they want dollars" .