196 MARKETS 



The rapid growth of the ice cream industry has further 

 developed a splendid and ever-increasing market for plain con- 

 densed bulk milk. Additional impetus has been lent this devel- 

 opment since the advent of national prohibition, which caused 

 a vast increase in the consumption of ice cream and of soft 

 drinks of which ice cream constitutes an integral part. Manu- 

 facturers of condensed milk estimate that this has resulted in 

 an increase of their production of plain condensed bulk milk 

 amounting to from 15 to 20 per cent. 



Market Prices of Condensed Milk. The price of condensed 

 milk is not controlled by the general market of dairy products, 

 nor by any board of trade; there is no consistent uniformity of 

 price throughout the country as is the case of butter*and cheese. 

 The price of condensed milk does not necessarily follow the 

 rise and fall of the butter and cheese markets, but in the long 

 run it is usually affected by abrupt fluctuations of prices of these 

 other dairy products, largely on account of the influence of such 

 fluctuations on the supply to the condensery of fresh milk. It 

 is chiefly governed by local conditions of supply and demand, 

 conposition of product and reputation of the individual brand. 

 Condensed milk is sold under hundreds of different brands or 

 labels. While one and the same concern may sell scores of 

 different brands, the brand itself has very little, if anything, to 

 do with the quality or composition of the contents of the can. 

 Each brand usually sells at its own special price, although the 

 various brands put on the market by the same concern often 

 contain the same quality of milk and may be filled with con- 

 densed milk from one and the same batch. It is customary in 

 most factories to fill the cans before they are labeled and the 

 orders for different brands of condensed milk are filled from 

 the same general stock. The brands serve largely as an in- 

 strument to increase the sales and "dodge" competitors. 



Sweetened condensed milk, packed in hermetically sealed 

 cans, sells from about $3.25 to $5 per case of 48 sixteen-ounce 

 cans and the cans retail at from 5 to 20 cents each, according 

 to the size of the cans and market conditions. 



Evaporated milk, unsweetened condensed milk in hermetic- 

 ally sealed cans, sells from $2.25 to $4.00 per case, according to, 

 the size of the cans and market conditions. 



