n6 Condensed Milk and Milk Powder 



of canned condensed milk in our home markets has, also, been in- 

 creasing rapidly within recent years, and is today assuming aston- 

 ishing proportions. The rapid growth of the ice cream industry 

 has further developed a splendid and ever increasing market for 

 plain condensed bulk milk. 



It is estimated that the canned condensed milk is from three 

 to six months old before it reaches the consumer. It is usually sold 

 through the medium of a jobber or broker and not direct from 

 manufacturer to consumer. In its transit to the distant markets, it 

 is subjected to many delays ; first, by its storage in the factory, then 

 the time in transportation, next, the delay in the warehouse of the 

 jobber, broker or wholesale dealer. From there it gradually finds 

 its way to the shelves of the retailer, where there is again consider- 

 able delay before it reaches the pantry of the consumer. 



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 the prices of these other 

 dairy products, largely on account of the influence of such fluctua- 

 tions on the supply to the condensery of fresh milk. It is chiefly 

 governed by local conditions of supply and demand, composition 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 com- 

 position 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 condensed 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 to "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 



