CONSUMER GOODS 



139 



supply and demand in the market. This is true in 

 a general way and over a long period of time; but 

 it is also true in particular markets at particular 

 times, so that, depending on the number of ven- 

 dors, the price of a commodity frequently drops 

 much below, or soars much above, the general 

 market price. A merchant with a perishable item 

 like bananas or tomatoes is sometimes forced to 

 sell below cost simply because many banana or 

 tomato merchants happen to have come together. 

 I have no way of estimating the effect that such 

 "accidental" factors have in determining general 

 price structm-es. 



Prices of most commodities entering into the 

 economy of Panajachel are listed in Appendix 2 

 together with some Guatemala City prices. On 

 the pages that follow, only those commodities 

 about whose price there is something to add are 

 discussed. 



CORN 



Seasonal variations in supply, hence price, are 

 most important. After the harvest, January to 

 July or August, corn is plentiful in the market; at 

 the same time, since many Indians have harvested 

 their own, the demand is light. Therefore, it is 

 sold cheaply, and often it goes a begging. During 

 the rainy season, however, home-stored supplies 

 are gradually consumed, and beginning in August 

 the demand for market com increases at the same 

 time that smaller quantities are brought to market. 

 The price rises rapidly and considerably. The 

 seasonal change is greater in Panajachel than in 

 the Capital, which draws from a variety of supply- 

 ing areas. The average monthly price of highland 

 corn in the Guatemala City market from 1935 to 

 1940 was reported as follows: '^* 



' Data for years 1935-38 from table 26. pp. 597-598, Memoria del Rama dc 

 hacienda v Credito Publico, 1938 (Guatemala, 1939, a): (or 1939-40 from table 

 57, pp. 728-730. Memoria . . ., 1940 (Guatemala, 1941). 



January 1. 25 



February 1.24 



March 1.21 



April 1.26 



May 1.43 



June 



July 1.24 



August (>) 



September 1. 34 



October 1.39 



November 1. 23 



1.36 December 1.25 



' In AuTOSt of 1937 no price Is given; com was apparently not available in 

 the open market. Therefore no average is possible. 



The base year of this study, 1936, was a fairly 

 normal year, as compared with 1937, when the 

 price went up extraordinarily. The average 

 annual price in Guatemala City for 6 years was 

 reported as follows: 



1935 $1. 09 



1936 1.09 



1937 2.05 



1938 $1. 26 



1939 .94 



1940 1.21 



There are no comparable data for Panajachel and 

 nearby markets. An idea of how large local 

 variations sometimes become and what a shortage 

 means in Panajachel may be had from the follow- 

 ing excerpts from Rosales' 1936 and 1937 diaries:'" 



July 26, 1936: Corn is selling at 84 cents a hundredweight 

 in the local market. It did not sell well, and the 

 merchants had to take back their loads. 



September 12, 1936: Indians came from Agua Escondida 

 selling corn at 6 reales (0.0125 cent) a pound. 



September 13, 1936: Cerro de Oro Indians came with corn 

 at $1.25 a hundred. 



September 20, 1936: Cerro de Oro Indians brought corn 

 at 6 reales (0.0125 cent) a pound. 



December 6, 1936: Corn in the local market is a cent and 

 a half a pound; with the harvest in, this is e.\traordi- 

 narily high. 



December 13, 1936: Corn is at a cent and a half in the 

 market, and quantities are small. 



January 3, 1937: Corn still sells for 2 pounds for 2H cents. 



February 28, 1937: Corn is at 2 cents a pound when it 

 should be 2 pounds for !}'■• cents at this season of the 

 year. 



June 16, 1937: Corn is very scarce now. An Indian from 

 Patanatic brought 400 pounds on mules. The local 

 authorities ordered him to sell it for a maximum of 2 

 cents a pound. The rush to buy, on the part of both 

 Indians and Ladinos, was very great, and in half an 

 hour he was sold out. The Ladinos got more than the 

 Indians, for they pushed in ahead, grabbed the scales, 

 and insisted. Only when the Indians became a little 

 rough, too, did they get any. The merchant was as fair 

 as he could be in applying the rule of first come first 

 served. The Indians were at least considerate with one 

 another about who was first, and then when the corn 

 was almost gone, an agreement was reached to allow 

 a maximum of 2 or 3 pounds to each buyer. 



'" Memorial! of Hacienda y Credito Piblieo, 1938, p. 698 (Guatemala, 1939 a) ; 

 1939, p. 729 (Guatemala, 1940). 



i» The 1937 com harvest was poor and there was a serious shortage through- 

 out Guatemala, relieved only In part by Imports and sales supervised by the 

 oenttsl authorities. 



