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The prune merchant 
Grading and packing of prunes is not attended to in one plant in 
Yugoslavia as on the Pacific Coast. As a result an extra factor, known 
as the "prune merchant" , enters into the trade. He buys the fruit from 
the gr overs and grades to sizes before selling to the packing and export- 
ing firms. He forms the direct contact between the peasants and the 
packer-exporters. His services consist in buying and grading the fruit, 
requiring therefore some sort of warehouse and grader' equipment . Generallj 
he is engaged in other lines of endeavor making prunes a side-issue. The 
peasants are frequently indebted to him for feed or groceries or other 
essential articles. Some of these merchants sell directly to the trade 
in bags but most of them act as buying agents for the big exporters located 
in Brcico, Valjevo and Belgrade. Commission for buying and grading in that 
case is uniformly five per cent. Ovine, to severe losses taken by the trade 
in prunes the last two years, very little speculation is now noted. 
Prunes continue to arrive on the markets until the end of the year 
but the heavier sales are made immediately after drying. The peasants are 
kept informed of prices through the Agricultural Agents but generally these 
prices are arrived at on the basis of quality, available supplies and the 
demand for that particular day. After having paid weighing fees and passed 
inspection the farmer seldom takes his prunes back home. The cash income 
from the prunes is very welcome and is often the occasion for weddings and 
general festivities. 
Price factor s 
Peasants may be approached as early as July to sell their fruit, 
either on the basis of delivery as dried prunes or the crop may be pur- 
chased fresh in which case the merchant decides whether to dry, to ship 
fresh, to make jam or turn the fruit into rakia. Whether the peasant sells 
or holds his fruit the prices ruling on the various by-products of the 
fresh prune will determine what is done with the prunes finally. This 
price factor, very pronounced throughout all the prune sections, makes it 
difficult to forecast the percentage of the crop that will go into the 
various by-products each season. 
'hile the peasants generally are not commercially inclined they 
display much shrewdness in their own way of bargaining. In the matter 
of ruling prices, they are constantly assisted by the Agricultural Agents 
"'ho are, however, handicapped by the absence of telephones and automobiles. 
It is estimated that 220 pounds of fresh prunes will turn out about 6.6 
gallons of 20 per cent slivovica, 60 pounds of dried prunes and from 44 
to 55 pounds of jam. These facts, combined with ruling or prospect ive 
prices, enable the peasant to make surprisingly good bargains. The 
possibility of turning to products other than dried, is an inherent 
advantage of the Yugoslav industry. Prunes that are too ripe or split 
