Table 11. Retail Food Price Index in 56 Cities, February 1950 



(1935-39= 100) 



Item Index 



Cereals and bakery products 169.0 



Wheat flour 187.7 



Corn meal 175.8 



Rice 92.4 



Rolled oats • 146.2 



Bread, white 163.9 



Fruits and vegetables 199.1 



Apples 187.7 



Bananas 278.3 



Beans, green 219.2 



Cabbage 169.6 



Carrots 184.3 



Onions 184.8 



Potatoes 195.6 



Sweet potatoes 205.5 



Canned corn • 142.1 



Canned peas 114.0 



Dried beans 204.3 



The retail prices of wheat, flour, bread, and rice have not risen as 

 much as have potatoes. In the vegetable group prices of cabbage, carrots, 

 and onions have advanced less than potatoes, and canned corn and peas 

 have shown the least price increase. 



There will be regional difl^erences in relative prices and Tables 10 and 

 11 in no way indicate that one product is a better buy than another. They 

 indicate what has been happening to potato prices relative to competing 

 foods in the United States, and may be a partial answer as to why potato 

 consumption has been declining. 



There are no definite findings, however, that in a given situation con- 

 sumers would buy more if the price were lower, ^ and it can only be deduced 

 that if equal satisfaction is obtained from two foods, the demand for the 

 lower-priced food will increase relative to the other. 



Attempts to increase the sale of potatoes by improved quality is the 

 basis for systems of grading established by the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, state departments of agriculture, and producers' organizations. To 

 thr extent that the grades in use do not increase sales over what they would 

 be without them the additional cost cannot be justified to producers. The 

 same argument applies to packaging. The adoption of packaging in "various- 

 sized containers which are attractively marked is a means of increasing 

 sales. Therefore, the grades must meet consumer requirements, or fail in 

 in their objectives. 



Various studies have shown that retail price is not necessarily related 

 to quality or grade ^ but a general practice is followed of charging "what 



'^Problems in Marketing Poincoes — Preliminary results of some recent research (U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, July 1949), p. 51. 



-Merchant and Woodward, Quality of Potatoes in Retail Stores in Boston and Maine Markets, 1948 

 (Maine Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 466), p. 48. 



Rasmusscn and Childress, Grade Qualities of Potatoes in Retail Stores, New York City 1948 (Preliminary 

 report New York Agricultural Experiment Station, AE 6785). 



20 



