INGREDIENTS
(Continued front Page 50)
pected to become a new and powerful in-
fluence on prices of many commodi ties, and
the cocoa si tu ation may be showing new
developments by the time this issue reaches
our readers.
Crop reports will grow in importance in
the ingredients field by the week from
now until harvests are completed. Early
reports con tinue to be generally favorable,
but first reports on new crop outlook for
Spanish peanuts and spearmint had an un-
favorable turn.
A digest of current reports on ingredients
used in making merchandise follows:
Butter-Butter staged an early recovery
from the February declines and th e general
trend is expected to be upward, although
breaks in the market will occur at intervals.
At the present tim e, shortages are being
reported in some cities. Prices hold well
above the same period in 1947, said to be
due to heavy demand, smaller production
and smaller storage holdings.
Chocolate- Increased buying ' by manu-
facturing firms began in March but most
recent reports sugges t a slower demand.
As mentioned in the introduction, govern -
ment action in its European aid program
may start the downward trend in chocolate
and cocoa prices that has been rumored
for some months. Most recent price actions
in th e spot market have shown spotty fluc-
tuations but the trend in March was down-
ward. News reports have suggested that
unrest among the population in the Gold
Coast region may affect cocoa supplies, but
supply houses say 80 per cent of cocoa
purchased in Africa for the season ending
Sept. 30, had already arrived in the U. S.
or was en route by April 1. The candy
manufacturing trade reports little difficulty
in getting chocolate ; in fact, some recent
offers of coatin gs have gone unsold as
manufacturers wait for price reduction s.
Chocolate processors report that candy
manufacturers have used up all chocola te
bought at 1946 prices and are now using
more recent supplies bought at much hi gh er
. prices. The can dy trade is actively helpin g
to e nco urage wider production of cocoa
beans; the Brazilian crop may bring en-
co uragin g news soon. But .England is in-
creasing its use of cocoa butter, due to
shortages of vegetable oils.
Cocoanut-New candy bars th at contain
cocoanut may in crease interest in thi s in-
gredient. The year started off with larger
exports from th e Philippines th an had been
expected, and a copra boom is still under
way there. U. S. markets have recently re-
ported that dessicated cocoan ut suppli es
dropped in April and trend is expected to
last through May. Copra prices advan ced
over the last month.
Corn Products- Prices were generally
holding steady during the past month. De-
mand for corn syrup began to pick up,
probably due to more activity in ice cream
field. Demand for dextrose reportedly slow
and also for corn starches; lag in demand
probably suggests candy and ice cream
trades are waiting for lower prices. De-
mand for dextrine is reported to be stron g.
Edible Oils-Candy a nd ice cream trades
h ave in creased demand for cocoa nut oil;
sli ght price declines were reported during
th e last month ; general demand has been
slow for cocoanut oil. Most recent reports
suggest a demand greater than supply for '
some refined oils; prices have been in creas-
ing on soybean, co rn and peanut oil. Cur-
rent crop reports are favorable for future
supplies of oils, but price trends are re-
ported confused at the presen t time.
Eggs- Official reports predict less pro-
duction of eggs this year than in 1947;
that prices will tend to remain high; that
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mo·re eggs will move into storage. ~rocery
trade reports predict decided decli nes in
egg prices within the year. Processed eggs,
liquid, frozen and dried, are at very low
levels thus far this year, compared with
previous years. Price trend on eggs during
th e last month has been downward .
Flavors- Flavoring manufacturers' asso-
cia tion, schedul ed to hold an nu al convention
in New York Ci ty, May 23 to 26, has urged
its members to cooperate with th e Census
Bureau in turning in da ta on the trade.
Represen tatives of soft drink, candy and
other trades will be speak ers on the pro-
gram. Demand for flavor oils has been slow
thus far during the year, with su pplies at
ample level ; prices have tended to be un-
certain, but remaining high, due to world
conditions. Exception to price trend h?s
been citrus oils and soft drink and candy
trades are reportedly now active in buying.
Honey- Market reports continue to re-
veal slow retail demand, with farmers com-
plaining about prices.
Milk-Consumer demand for all dairy
products continues heavy; retail prices have
declined less seasonally than in 1947; con-
sumption of fluid milk has been less than
during same period last year; seasonal price
trends are due for declin es but level ex-
pected to hold above last year. Prices con-
tinue higher for processed milk, including
evaporated, con densed and dry whol e milk ;
storage holdings are lower and demand is
strong. Government experiments on using
powdered buttermilk in making candy still
continue. P er capita production of milk
and dairy products is above the annual aver-
age level.
Mint Oils-One of the first unfavorable
crop reports related to spearmint; a plant
disease threatens new crop to some extent
in Indiana and Michigan. Reports on pep-
permint crop from State of Washington are
favorable; outlook is for record production.
Prices of oils on the market have tended
to hold steady in recent weeks.
Nuts-Brazil nuts may become scarce due
to disagreements of importers with growers
on price terms; government has offered to
support price of walnuts and filberts; pecan
price support has been withdrawn until the
new crop is ready; strong demand is ex-
pected for En glish walnuts. Spot markets
have been quiet for weeks and prices re-
main fairly steady. Peanut and almond
markets are reported in the column on Mer-
chandise.
Soybean s-Price trend on soybean prod-
ucts has been slightly upward. Outlook
for new crop shows prospect of an acreage
slightly below the record acreage planted .
last year; even with the record crop last
year, warehouse stocks have declined fast;
soybean oil is now a big item in export
trade. Prices of soybean, cocoanut and corn
oil tend to hold about th e same level per
pound.
Su gar - On e year ago, sugar was domi-
nant in the news of in gredients; now, mar-
ket reports tend to be routine, with prices
holding almost steady. Commercial users
did heavy buying toward the end of 1947,
so that buying in 1948 has been less. Offi-
cial reports on stocks held by commercial
manufacturers suggest smaller holdings than
in pre-war period.
Tobacco- Market news is now routine,
except that 1948 crop prospects will begin
to get attention. Acreage quotas are now
about 2 per cent less than 1947 quotas. A
new sc ien tific development may enable
growers to increase production per acre by
using copper sulphate as a fertilizer. Re-
cent reports suggest that high cost of to-
bacco may be used as a plea for in crease ..
in manufacturers' price on cigarettes, as re-
ported in the column on Merchandi se. Aver-
age price for burley crop last year set a
record.
COIN MA CHINE REVIEW
54
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