G I. K A N I N G S IN U E E C U L T U R F, 



OcTdBKR, 1922 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE A 



keei^ing the entrances out of sunlight. Tie 

 also puts a wire guard in every entrance so 

 that mice (which are so abundant in Chosen) 

 cannot enter and damage the contents of the 

 hives. Yasuo Hiratsuka. 



Tara, Gifu-ken, Japan. 



SELLING HONEY LOCALLY 



Relation Between Prices to Producers, Retailers and 

 Consumers in Various-sized Packages 



Let us remember that the retail price to 

 the consumer is the final criterion of sales 

 and test of marketing efficiency. I think 

 comb honey at 50 cents a section is out of 

 reason and sure to cause a severe reaction. 

 But 1 do not produce comb honey now and 

 will conline this discussion to extracted. 



To simplify things, let us divide the sell- 

 ing price per pound into two parts. First, the 

 return for the liouey alone, which we will 

 call the base; second, the cost of containers 

 and casing per pound. We notice that con- 

 tainers cost most where the most honey is 

 produced, owing to long freight haul. 



In this article wholesale pack means honey 

 cased in 5-gallon cans, two to the case, and 

 indicated by Csd 2-60. 



Retail pack is cased 6 ten-pound tins, 12 

 five pound tins, and 12 (or 24) two and a 

 lialf-pound tins to the case, indicated bv 

 Csd 6-10, Csd 12-5, Csd 12-21/2, etc. 



The cost of cans and cases for the whole- 

 sale pack (Csd 2-60) is one and a half to 

 two cents per pound. For the retail pack, if 

 made directly after extracting, the cost for 

 containers and cases is two and a half to 

 three cents per pound for Csd 6-10, Csd 12-5, 

 Csd 24-2 1/^, and about three and a quarter 

 for Csd 12-2%. Let us say 3 cents per pound 

 for the retail pack, and a little under 2 

 cents for wholesale. The difference is close 

 to one cent. 



Table of Prices to Producer, Retailer and 

 Consumer. 



Price to Retail 

 Retailer Price 

 Base. Csd 2-60 Csd 12-5 C^sd 12-5 Csd 12-5 



4 6 7 8 11 

 6 8 9 10 l.-^ 



5 10 11 12 16 

 10 12 13 14 IS 

 12 14 15 16 20 



The figures in the above table mean cents 

 per pound. The first column shows base 

 prices or what the producer gets. Tlie sec- 

 ond and third eolunius add the cost of con- 

 tainers and cases for wholesale and retail 

 ]>ack. The fourth column shows what I think 

 a fair increase for retail pack to the local 

 dealer, one cent per pound. Note that in 

 addition the producer usually saves the cost 

 of cases when selling locally. All tliese 

 figures neglect small fractions, but I think 



those in the fourth column are not in error 

 by so much as half a cent. 



What I am advocating is the sale of honey 

 as a food commodity entirely outside the 

 class of champagne, chorus girls and plati- 

 num jewelry. My personal belief is that the 

 12-2% pack will eventually take the lead 

 over the 12-5 at an increased cost of leas 

 than half a cent a pound. 



Taking the country over, base 4 is too low 

 to keep the business going. Base 6 is better 

 than is now being realized by many large 

 producers in the West. But base 8 can be 

 reached if all try to use the local markets 

 right. Base 10 is not too high proportionate- 

 ly to i^rices of fabricated commodities, nor 

 likety to be so in the future. 



The retail prices in column five for honey 

 in 5-pound tins give the retailer 30 odd per 

 cent, which he can shade for cash. 



Taking up base 8 in detail suppose the 

 producer sells the 12-2% pack for $3.60 to 

 the retailer, and $4.00 to individuals. He will 

 not hurt the retailer, who can sell locally at 

 40 cents for the 2%-pound can, and not over 

 45 cents within the 100-mile range. 



The cost to re-handlers of the crop shipped 

 out on base 6 and base 8 with freight added 

 will be 11 to 13 cents and very little will be 

 sold them at base 10. The cost of glass 

 jars and cases will add 7 to 10 cents for 

 1-pound and 6V2-ounce glass packages. The 

 price to grocers will run close to 30 cents, 

 and the retail price 50 cents a pound and up. 

 This last j)rice could not be much less if pro- 

 ducers supplied hone}' gratis (base zero). 



Efficient marketing of honey demands, as 

 I see it, that all who produce honey at base 

 7 to base 8 shall see that their 2% and 5 

 pound cans are retailed within a hundred- 

 mile radius at 15 to 16 cents a pound. 



But this honey must be carefully strained 

 when extracted, labeled with the producer 's 

 name and handled right all the way through. 

 Tlio honey should be as clear as if to be 

 bottled. The extra cost is a small fraction 

 of a cent per pound. 



I am selling, this season, at base 7%. Lo- 

 cal dealers sell my 2% -pound pack at 35 

 cents each. I do not expect to ship over 

 the range at all, though my. clistomers have 

 done so. The notion of selling fair-sized tiu 

 packages to local customers and retailers at 

 prices that approach the cost of bottled hon- 

 ey does not appeal to me as a business 

 proposition. 



\ believe that if tlie base is placed at S 

 the wliole crop can be sold and a great new 

 market opened, and the beauty of it, practic- 

 ally free of a railroad tariff that hurts the 

 cheap syrups even worse yet. The thousand- 

 mile-haul business is another story, as to 

 which we should worry if we sell honey to 

 our neighbors as we expect them to sell 

 grnin and potatoes and meat to us. 



Laplata, X. M. Harrison H. Brown. 



