CONSUMER GOODS 



141 



The price of beans in Guatemala City ranged, 

 during this period, from $1.17 a hundred pounds in 

 February of 1936 to S3.39 in October of 1937. The 

 year 1936 again appears to have been a relatively 

 normal year, and the price of beans below average. 

 For some reason the price of beans in Panajachel 

 in 1936 was considerably lower than that in Guate- 

 mala City. Informants consistently gave the 

 average price as about 2 cents a pound. However, 

 I have a note of June 29 (when the price in 

 Guatemala City was about $1.75 a hundred) of a 

 sale at 1 cent a pound ; this was, however, probably 

 below the market price, since a woman who needed 

 money was anxious to sell a few pounds. '^^ I have 

 another note of September 11 (when the price in 

 Guatemala City was about $2.50) of sales in the 

 market place at the rate of $1.67. September is 

 the month of highest bean prices, so I am inclined 

 to think that the average price was somewhat 

 imder $1.50 a hundredweight. Since again the 

 Indians bought in small quantities and frequently 

 in the stores, I have set the value of the beans 

 they used and bought at $1.60. (There are small 

 variations in the price of beans depending on 

 whether they are vine or groimd beans, and on 

 color.) The year 1936 was undoubtedly a cheap 

 one for beans, too. Informants say that the 

 general maximum is 4 cents, the minimum 1 cent, 

 and the usual average 2 cents a pound. 



If the figures for com and bean prices in Pana- 

 jachel for 1936 are correct, it may be of interest to 

 note that whereas in Guatemala City beans cost 

 70 percent more than com, in Panajachel in the 

 same year they cost but 28 percent more. Proba- 

 ble reasons for this are, first, that Panajachel grows 

 for its own use a larger proportion of beans to com 

 than most places, with its irrigated bean gardens, 

 and thus reduces the market demand for beans 

 relative to corn; and, second, that Indians con- 

 sume a smaller proportion of beans to corn than do 

 Ladinos. In Guatemala City, where the propor- 

 tion of Ladinos is very great, the demand for 

 beans must be relatively greater. 



OTHER FOOD STAPLES 



For other food staples, the prices are little 

 different in Panajachel from those prevailing in 

 Guatemala City and the country as a whole. 

 However, most of the Indians of Panajachel (and 



i» I also bave a note that in December of 1936 It was 1 cent a'pound. 



some Ladinos as well) pay more for some com- 

 modities because they buy in smaller quantities. 

 For example, by buying panela, the low-refined 

 sugar, not by the ball or the half-ball but usually by 

 the half-cent's worth, they pay at the rate not of 2 

 cents a pound, but closer to 3. Likewise, although 

 coffee beans are 5 cents a pound, Panajacheleiios 

 sell their own higher quality coffee for more and 

 many buy it by the ounce roasted and ground. 

 In 1936 they actually paid at the rate of 24 cents 

 a pound, when ground coffee in the capital sold 

 for a ma.ximum of 15 cents. Lard, which sold in 

 1936 for as little as 8 cents a pound in Panajachel, 

 is bought by the ounce for as high as 16 cents. 

 Chocolate by the pound came to about 12 cents; 

 by the tablet, to 16 cents. On the other hand, in 

 some commodities there is little premium to be 

 paid on small quantities; for example, red peppers 

 are a half-cent an ounce, and in Guatemala City 

 appear to have averaged the same by the pound. 



Eggs tend to vary in price with three factors. 

 Hens lay little during the rainy season (May to 

 October); just when corn, which is the com- 

 mon feed, is high. So during the rainy months 

 eggs are high. But in the dry season, before 

 Easter, the demand is very great and the price 

 rises. The result is that in Panajachel eggs sell 

 for as little as three-foiu-ths of a cent in January 

 and February, double that in March, and as 

 much as 2 cents in September. The average over 

 the year, informants agreed, is about 1% cents. 

 In Guatemala City, as might be expected, they 

 are slightly higher {El Imparcial, 1937). (See 

 Appendix 2.) 



The prices of bread, honey, and chocolate do not 

 vary in Panajachel during the year. The kind of 

 bread that Indians ordinarily use sells at 1 cent a 

 roll of 1 ounce (before baking), and the larger rolls 

 and loaves used during Holy Week are corre- 

 spondingly higher. In Guatemala City the price 

 appears to have been the same, but it rose in April 

 of 1937. Honey, which is bought only for Holy 

 Week, was 5 cents a bottle (24 ounces liquid) in 

 Panajachel in 1936. This was cheap, for it is more 

 usually 8 cents and in 1937 it sold all year for 12 

 cents in Guatemala City. 



MEAT AND FISH 



The price of beef is normally stationary : 5 cents 

 a pound with bones and 8 cents without, regardless 

 of the cut. Before the study ended, the butchers 



