the Pacific coast o It is also probable that the California sardine, or 

 pilchard J viH stage some come-back. However, it seems unlikely that the 

 pilchard will approach its previous peak in the foreseeable future. It 

 does not seem probable that the pack of canned mackerel or of Pacific and 

 jack mackerel will be increas«d very greatly nor that these products will 

 prove a substitute for or competitor of canned tuna in the near future. 

 In addition to an increased level of constimption of canned tuna in 1953 

 it is considered quite likely that successive increases in following years 

 will occur to the I960 level of consumption m«itioned in the previous section. 



Background of Demand for Canned Tuna 



Consumer income is a major factor in the consumption of food, as is 

 true of consumer goods in gaieral. The income of consumers tends to vaiy 

 with the volume of business activity. Wage earners' income, v*iile it is 

 dependent on rate of pay, hours worked, and the volume of employment, 



varies with economic activity rather dii^ctly. When economic activity 

 is on a hi^ plane, employment is at a hi^ level, as is true at present, 

 when the number employed is at a maximum and the volume of unemployment is 

 at a minimumo PuH employment brings high consumer income and increased 

 purchasing power. When the purchasing power of consumers is large, the 

 prospect for maintaining or increasing the consumption of a given food is 

 facilitated. When cDnsumer income and the consequent expenditures decline, 

 the compet-ition between foods is enhanced. 



It seems unlikely that economic activity will continue at its present 

 level indefinitely. In fact, many economists believe it will decline during 

 1953, The prospects for food production, however, are favorable. Consequent- 

 ly, it is anticipated that there wUl be increased competition between foods. 

 In this competition, canned tuna is rather favorably situated because of 

 its relatively low price as compared with many other protein foods. However, 

 it is not as staple an article of diet as a number of other conmodities in 

 this class and it is a relatively recent addition to the diet of many con- 

 sumers „ 



The development of specialty packs, such as smoked or spiced tuna, 

 has made little progress in the United States, It does not seem likely 

 that these packs will reach significant volume in relation to standard 

 types of canned tuna. 



101 



