The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
Retail Prices of Food, 1949 Bulletin No. 1032 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Ewan Clague, Commissioner Retail Prices o f Food, 1949 Bulletin No. 1032 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Ewan Clague, Com m issioner For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 15 cents Letter of Transmittal U nited States D epartment of L abor, B ureau of L abor Statistics, Washington, D. C., September 15, 1950. The Secretary of L abor : I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on retail prices and indexes of retail prices of foods for the year 1949. In 1949, retail food prices were almost 4 percent below those for 1948, and second only to 1948 in being the all-time high. After a sharp drop in February 1949, prices fluctuated moderately from month to month around a downward trend that continued through December. A mimeographed report on retail prices of food, giving index numbers by group and subgroup of commodities and average prices for individual foods in each of 56 cities will continue to be issued monthly and will be available on request as heretofore. This report was prepared by Frances H. Martin of the Food Section of the Bureau's Branch of Consumers' Prices. E wan C lague, Commissioner. Hon. M aurice J. T obin, Secretary oj Labor. Contents Page Summary___________________________________________________________________________ Food prices during 1949___________________________________________________________ Changes in food prices by city____________________________________________________ Trend of prices for major food groups___________________________________________ Retail prices and indexes of individual foods in 1949___________________________ 1 1 3 3 11 TABLES 1. — Indexes of retail prices of food in large cities combined, by year, 1913-49, and by month, January 1947 to December 1949______________________________ 2. — Indexes of retail prices of food, by city and by month, 1949________________ 3. — Indexes of retail prices of food in large cities combined, by commodity group, by year, 1923-49, and by month 1949_________________________________ 4. — Average retail prices of principal foods in large cities combined, by month, 1949______________________________________________________________________________ 5. — Indexes of retail prices of principal foods in large cities combined, by month, 1949______ 6. — Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949____________ 2 6 7 8 10 12 AP P E N D IX Brief description of Retail Food Price Index___________________________________ Store sample selection________________________________________________________ Collection of prices___________________________________________________________ Processing_____________________________________________________________________ Relative importance__________________________________________________________ Revisions______________________________________________________________________ Publications___________________________________________________________________ 17 17 17 18 18 18 19 A P P E N D IX TABLES Table A .— Population weights used in computing retail food prices and indexes for 56 cities combined__________________________________________________ Table B .— List of foods and relative importance of individual foods and groups of foods included in the Retail Food Price Index, in the base period (1 93 5-39), December 1948, and December 1949______________________________ HI 20 20 Retail Prices of Food, 1949 Summary At the beginning of 1949, unemployment was rising, and there was uncertainty about the chances of a price recession similar to that of February 1948. Markets were becoming buyers' markets as more plentiful supplies of durable goods began to fill the pent-up demand created by World War II. In satisfying this demand, more money was spent on durable goods and less on food. High food prices and efforts by con sumers to save more of their incomes further contributed to a decline in the demand for food and tended to bring prices down. Buying by retailers and wholesalers became more cautious and inventories were lowered. In the first 2 months of 1949 retail food prices continued the decline from the all-time peak reached in August 1948. Through the remainder of the year, food prices fluctuated within a limited range compared with the record peak and sub sequent declines during 1948. By December 1949, retail food prices averaged 3.8 percent lower than in December 1948. Table 1 and chart 1 present the trend in retail prices of all foods combined, from 1913 through 1949. Food Prices During 1949 During January and February 1949, food prices continued the downward trend begun in 1948, with declines in prices of meats, eggs, and fats and oils being the major contributing factors. Declines would have been much greater had it not been for the counteracting effect of higher fresh fruit and vegetable prices. Higher prices for these items followed the cold-weather damage in Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona. A 2^-percent drop for all foods from midJanuary to mid-February was slightly larger than during the period of the commodity market break of February 1948. As in 1948, retail prices were affected by drops in prices of wheat and corn, as well as by the large marketings of cattle and hogs. This resulted in larger than usual declines in the prices of meats. In March and April, prices again rose moder ately at the rate of about 1 percent a month. The trend in meat prices was reversed and prices rose more than seasonally during the 2 months in spite of the lower Lenten demand. Fresh fruits and vegetables continued to rise, although less than seasonally. Egg prices were also higher, contrary to the usual seasonal movement as the Lenten season brought greater demand and egg shipments were hindered by weather conditions. In May, prices decreased slightly on the aver age, as lower prices for most food groups were not offset by higher prices for eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, lamb, beef, and veal. Pork prices dropped contraseasonally following a break in hog prices when marketings were larger than expected. In June, prices of meats and eggs were up much more than seasonally. Sugar prices increased slightly. Coffee prices, which had shown small in creases in January and February, decreased slightly in March, April, and May. They then started the advance that gained momentum as the year progressed. In July, the index for all foods again went down, with prices slightly more than 1 percent lower. All food groups were lower except eggs, dairy products, beverages, and dried fruits and vege tables. With minor exceptions, the food-trend patterns for August and September were similar, amounting to fractional over-all increases. Prices increased for these 2 months for practically all groups except fresh and canned fruits and vegetables. In Au gust, lard prices rose about 8 percent, and mar garine 3K percent. During the last quarter of the year, the trend in food prices was predominantly down. There were, however, a few exceptions to this trend. In October, all food groups declined except dairy products, coffee, and sugar. In November, sugar continued to increase slightly, Beef and veal 1 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 T able 1.— Indexes of retail prices of food in large cities combined, by year, 1918-49 > and by month, January 1947 to December > 1949 [1935-39-100] All foods index Year Year All foods index All foods index Year Year and month BY YEAR All foods index Year and month All foods index All foods index Year and month BY M O N T H 1913................... 1914__________ 1915...... ............. 1916____ _____ 79.9 81.8 80.9 90.8 1925................. 1926.................. 1927.................. 1928 _______ 132.9 137.4 132.3 130.8 1937................. 1938.................. 1939 ................ 1940 ____ ____ 105.3 97.8 95.2 96. 6 1917................... 1918...... ............ 1919................... 1920....... ............ 116.9 134.4 149.8 168.8 1929.................. 1930.................. 1931................ 1932.............. 132.5 126.0 103.9 86.5 1941.................. 1942................. 1943........ ........ 1944.................. 105.5 123.9 138.0 136.1 1921.................... 1922.................... 1923 .................. 1924 — ............. 128.3 119.9 124.0 122.8 1933.................. 1934............ . 1935 ................ 1936.................. 84.1 93.7 100.4 101.3 1945.................. 1946........... ...... 1947.................. 1948................ 1949................ 139.1 159.6 193.8 210.2 201.9 1947 January______ February_____ March___ ____ April___ _____ 183.8 182.3 189.5 188.0 1948 January______ February_____ March.............. April. ________ 209.7 204.7 202.3 207.9 1949 January........... February_____ March_______ April................ 204. g 199.7 201. € 202. i May......... ...... June_________ July................. August... ____ 187.6 190.5 193.1 196.5 May_________ June_________ July................. August_ _ __ 210.9 214.1 216.8 216.6 May................. June_________ July................. August_______ 204. i 201.7 202. ( September____ October______ November____ December........ 203.5 201.6 202.7 206.9 September____ October______ November____ December........ 215.2 211.5 207.5 205.0 September____ October........... November____ December........ 204.5 200. ( 200A 197.: 202.4 Chart 1. Retail Prices of Food in Large Cities Combined 1935-39 INDEX * 100 INDEX 240 240 220 220 - 200 200 180 180 160 140 140 120 120 100 100 . 1913 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1949 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 19^9 prices advanced fractionally. Cereals and bakery products also showed slight increases, as the Texas hurricane damaged the rice crop. Prices of fresh fruits and vegetables in November took a sizable contraseasonal jump and coffee prices soared 24 percent. These price rises counteracted gen eral declines for all other groups so that no appre ciable change was shown on the average. In December, coffee prices alone continued the upward trend, increasing an additional 10 percent to establish a record high at retail for this com modity for the fourth consecutive month. All other groups declined to bring the average down 1.7 percent over the month. Prices were affected by a number of factors, among which were increas ing price resistance, foreign currency devaluation, strikes, large numbers of hogs marketed from a spring pig crop about 15 percent greater than in 1948, price supports, weather conditions, and gen eral world affairs. Changes in Food Prices by City The price decline over the year was general for the 56 cities surveyed by the Bureau. In direct contrast to the 1948 pattern, prices for 1949 aver aged lower in all cities, ranging from 2.5 percent lower in San Francisco to 6.5 percent in Cleveland. After average declines in 38 cities in January 1949, and all 56 cities in February 1949, the downward swing started in August 1948 was halted. From March through September, the trend was upward except for a reversal in July. However, from October through December a downward trend occurred. A comparison of December 1948 with December 1949 shows that prices decreased in all cities, ranging from 0.7 percent in New Haven to 8.2 percent in Los Angeles. Indexes of average retail food prices by city during 1949 are presented in table 2. (Annual average prices of individual foods by city are shown in table 6.) Trend of Prices for Major Food Groups Trends among major food groups varied from December 1948 to December 1949. Prices de clined for five major groups: fats and oils (25.9 percent); eggs (18.1 percent); meats, poultry, and 3 fish (7.5 percent); dairy products (6.5 percent); and cereals and bakery products (0.6 percent). Prices rose for three groups: beverages (40.8 per cent); fruits and vegetables (3.1 percent); and sugar and sweets (3.4 percent). In December 1949, prices had risen most above the 1935-39 level for beverages (192.5 percent), and meats, poultry, and fish (123.2 percent). On the other hand, prices of fats and oils had declined to a point only 36.7 percent above the 1935-39 level. Table 3 presents indexes of retail food prices by group for the years 1923 through 1949 and for each month in 1949. The accompanying chart shows the trend of retail food prices by group through 1949. Cereals and bakery products.—Retail prices for cereals and bakery products remained relatively stable on the average for the second year near the record of January 1948. Prices had risen steadily from 1946 through January 1948, after which they leveled off, showing fractional declines over the last 2 years. The largest price changes over the year for items in this group were declines of 13 percent for rice, 8K percent for corn meal, and 6 percent for rolled oats. Meats, poultry, and fish.—Prices of the meats, poultry, and fish group decreased 7% percent over the year, with chickens down 13 K percent, fish 9 percent, and meats percent. All meat items decreased. Pork prices dropped 13K percent as salt pork prices dropped 20 percent, bacon 18 per cent, whole ham 13 percent, and pork chops 10% percent. Beef and veal averaged 4 percent lower with largest decreases for hamburger (9 percent), chuck roast (8 percent), and rib roast (nearly 4K percent). Leg of lamb declined 1 percent. At the beginning of the year, the number of cattle on feed in the United States was the largest on record. The number of hogs was 4 percent greater than the year before and the largest since January 1, 1946. In January and February, prices for the meats, poultry, and fish group moved down more than seasonally. By March and April, meat prices had reversed their downward trend of the previous 6 months to advance more than seasonally. This trend ex tended through June except for pork, which weakened contraseasonally in M ay with large RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1W9 4 Chart 2. Retail Prices for Groups of Food in Large Cities Combined. 1 9 3 5 -3 9 = 100 300 f Cereals and Bakery Products - 250 200 150 100 501___ I___ I___ I___ I___ ___ l___ l___ « i i i i i 25 0 200 150 100 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 marketings as farmers feared a change in market ing policy. Helping to push prices up during this period were good consumer demand, curtailed shipments brought about by good weather during the corn planting season and the increasingly higher hog-corn ratio, and small supplies of lamb. During the Lenten season, demand increased for chickens and ham. After Lent there was more demand for beef. Beef and veal rose 1 percent in May and percent in June. Scarce lamb, after larger than seasonal increases in March (5% per cent) and April (12V percent), continued upward 2 in May and June. In June 1949, leg-of-lamb was selling at an all-time high of over 80 cents a pound. Pork prices, which weakened in M ay (2% percent) contraseasonally, rose 6 percent in June. By July, prices of all subgroups declined, with lamb taking the largest drop (4% percent). Lamb prices continued their greater than seasonal de cline through August (over 6K percent), when other meats started to rise again. Prices were fluctuating with amounts of receipts, as growers attempted to maintain prices by withholding animals when markets weakened. In August, prices of chickens and fish which (except for the short Lenten demand) had been declining almost steadily since February, rose along with other items in the group. By September, the rise was general. However, hog growers realized that support prices would decline gradually throughout the rest of the year and attempted to market their hogs as early as possible without breaking the market. In October, the decline set in and continued through the remainder of the year. This drop remained about seasonal as strong demand helped to coun teract the effects of unusually large marketings. The December 1949 index for meats, poultry, and fish was 223.2 (1935-39=100), the lowest level since February 1949. In December, meat prices reached the lowest level since February 1949, fish prices were the lowest since October 1947, and chickens the lowest since April 1947. Dairy products.— Prices of dairy products moved to a level 6% percent lower in December 1949 than in December 1948. All items in the group showed declines from the record highs of 1948. Prices, which were already high, declined much more than the usual seasonal amounts to a level near that of July 1947. 953721— 51------- 2 5 Prices of fresh grocery milk declined 8 percent and delivered milk declined 7 percent over the year. In January, February, and March, de clines were mainly through Northeastern and North Central areas. By April, the decreases were quite general. In May, decreases were predominantly in the North Central area. From then on, price changes were mixed, with the trend chiefly upward through October, then slightly downward the last 2 months of the year. Prices in the Mountain area remained stable throughout the year. Per capita consumption of milk was somewhat lower in 1949 than in 1948. However, with the population larger, the total Assumption remained about the same as the year before. Milk output per cow was kept high throughout the year by unusually good pastures in the most important dairy areas and by heavy feeding of grains and other concentrates in sections affected by drought. There was no direct Federal Government sup port price on milk for fluid use. The price was established at the producer level through market ing agreements and orders, State-local control boards, etc. Butter prices fluctuated during the year over a narrower range than other items in the group. At the beginning of the year, prices were declining as increasing amounts of milk and cream were diverted from other sources to butter. On February 8, 1949, the United States Department of Agriculture announced a price-support program for butter, designed to yield farmers 90 percent of parity for butterfat for the year as a whole. The program was to be carried out through offers to purchase butter at wholesale when necessary. On February 9, in order to supplement the buttersupport program by stabilizing producer prices for manufacturing milk, the Department of Agri culture also announced resumption of the pro curement program for nonfat dried milk, which had been suspended temporarily near the end of 1948. Butter prices continued to decline as production passed consumption, and there was confusion over the Government program. Then the Commodity Credit Corporation announced that support prices would be made on a daily basis instead of weekly, an assurance that the Government intended to continue its support program through 1949 as 6 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 1949 T able 2.— Indexes of retail prices of food, by city 1 and by month, 1949 [1935-39=100] 1949 Region and city Average for the Jan. 15 Feb. 15 Mar. 15 Apr. 15 May 15 June 15 July 15 Aug. 15 Sept. 15 Oct. 15 Nov. 15 Dec. 15 year United States....... ........ ............ N e w E n g la n d Boston______________________ Bridgeport__________________ Fall River_______ ___________ Manchester__________________ New Haven_________ _______ Portland, Maine_____________ Providence___________ _____ 201.9 192.9 20 0 .0 198.8 199.4 195.3 191.9 207.1 204.8 199.7 21 0 .6 22 0 .8 202.4 194.1 187.8 194.9 195.3 196.4 190.9 189.7 202.9 190.9 197.9 199.6 199.3 193.6 191.5 206.4 191.3 198.8 199.4 199.7 194.3 190.0 206.8 192.4 201.7 197.0 199.4 194.3 191.1 206.5 191.4 196.3 195.0 197.6 202.4 196.7 204.6 193.3 195.5 199.7 203.7 197.9 206.1 194.3 22 0 .2 184.3 195.1 197.9 203.2 208.5 203.2 209.2 185.6 197.0 196.7 205.8 20 0 .0 199.8 21 0 .8 195.1 194.3 20 1 .1 204.3 201.7 195.9 205.0 194.2 200.3 199.3 200.3 194.7 194.7 209.7 21 0 .1 205.2 198.5 197.2 208.9 22 0 .6 204.2 20 0 .6 20 0 .8 197.3 194.6 194.2 194.8 209.0 197.1 204.8 201.7 203.3 198.3 193.8 210.9 193.7 198.2 198.7 197.2 197.9 189.7 207.0 193.2 200.3 198.1 195. 5 2198. 4 188.4 205.2 189.5 197.0 193.8 192.9 193.1 187.2 201.3 199.5 198.5 204.1 198.3 207.9 198.6 206.1 205.8 199.9 208.0 198.1 208.3 195.1 198.2 193.2 198.6 201.5 196.8 205.4 193.5 198.1 189.3 196.1 198.8 193.5 21 0 .1 21 0 .2 22 0 .1 M id d le A tla n tic Buffalo.._________ __________ Newark________ ____________ k New York______ ____ ______ 3 * Philadelphia_________________ Pittsburgh__________________ Rochester___________________ Scranton______ ____________ _ 196.2 198.6 202.7 197.4 205.8 195.5 201.4 197.9 20 0 .1 205.3 200.4 208.0 195.5 20 0 .0 195.0 22 0 .2 207.3 205. 5 205.9 201.9 212.4 208.0 188.6 197.3 200.9 206.5 215.7 214.0 202.7 199.7 207.2 182.3 194.5 195.5 207.9 206.0 20 1 .8 206.1 188.9 192.0 196.4 208.9 189.7 213.1 211.5 194.6 195.3 198.0 212.4 192.9 219.0 199.3 212.8 192.3 206.3 204.2 196.8 211.4 200.5 198.8 21 0 .6 192.1 196.0 21 0 .1 22 0 .2 198.9 198. 5 198.1 208.0 198.3 22 0 .6 199.6 199.6 203.4 198.7 208.8 199.3 204.1 20 0 .2 198.5 204.1 195.2 205.3 197.5 202.7 198.2 21 0 .2 21 0 .0 197.9 204.8 193.7 200.9 20 0 .8 192.0 193.2 E a s t N o r th C e n tra l Chicago_______ ________ _____ Cincinnati__________________ Cleveland___________________ Columbus, Ohio......................... Detroit_____________________ Indianapolis_________________ Milwaukee.............. .................. Peoria______________________ Springfield, 1 1 1 ----------------------- 207.4 201.5 209.0 184.3 196.6 197.9 22 1 .8 20 1 .2 207.0 200.3 208.1 184.3 20 0 .0 207.5 21 1 .1 208.0 197.3 204.9 212.4 207.8 206.8 189.2 190.1 195.7 207.1 188.9 213.0 207.8 189.8 192.4 196.5 207.6 190.4 215.1 209.0 189.8 193.1 196.4 207.5 191.0 215.3 208.1 189.0 193.5 196.9 207.8 191.6 214.0 202.1 213.5 196.9 210.6 208.7 200.3 215.3 202.4 203.7 194.7 210.3 190.8 201.2 202.0 193.5 208.5 195.2 195.6 198.3 212.9 193.8 206.0 203.5 197.1 212.4 198.8 197.8 197.5 212.4 195.2 206.6 205.2 195.5 212.2 200.1 198.3 198.2 205.6 223.8 190.1 213.2 206.2 202.0 209.5 230.0 193.9 217.1 214.5 195.8 205.4 221.3 189.2 212.2 207.4 197.4 203.7 222.1 187.7 211.9 206.9 204.4 211.6 199.7 212.6 207.1 215.7 199.8 * 213.2 200.7 208.0 197.2 210.2 201.7 203.4 204.8 205.0 209.6 211.8 205.8 215.6 215.3 208.9 215.5 224.2 223.2 214.4 22 0 .2 20 0 .8 21 1 .6 204.2 21 1 .2 185.4 201.5 200.5 205.6 218.9 214.0 207.4 200.5 208.9 182.9 197.9 195.7 21 0 .6 214.6 208.4 209.2 21 0 .6 210.4 186.2 197.2 199.3 22 1 .1 205.4 21 1 .1 20 0 .0 214.9 20 1 .1 187.9 197.4 200.5 203.7 214.4 209.6 206.5 199.7 209.2 183.6 192.4 198.9 199.4 211.9 204.7 208.3 198. 7 206.0 180.8 195.5 196.9 199.3 22 0 .2 204.4 20 1 .0 197.3 203.2 179.3 193.4 194.5 196.1 206.5 21 0 .6 21 0 .2 203.4 186.9 192.0 194.7 208.6 187.9 210.9 200.3 184.5 188.7 190.9 206.2 186.0 207.8 W e s t N o r th C e n tra l Cedar Rapids1 3---------------------2 Kansas City______ __________ Minneapolis______ ________ Omaha_____________________ St. Louis........ ....... ....... ............ St. Paul_________ ____ _______ Wichita3 ____________________ S o u th A tla n tic Atlanta_______ _ . . . . . . ___ Baltimore.._____ _ _______ Charleston, S. C. ----------------Jacksonville____ ___________ Norfolk_____________________ Richmond.. ________________ Savannah_________________ _ Washington, D. C_________ _ W inston-Salem 3_____ _____ 21 1 .2 21 0 .1 22 1 .8 203.9 187.2 190.1 196.4 205.2 190.7 192.8 197.9 192.3 216.4 205.1 188.5 190.6 196.2 206.8 189.1 210.7 188.8 211.9 190.3 211.8 21 1 .6 186.0 191.1 195.7 207.5 187.5 211.2 197.0 213.0 191.3 205.6 204.9 195.0 213.2 201.2 197.8 200.5 216.2 195.4 208.3 206.9 197.5 217.1 202.2 200.6 198.3 211.5 190.3 207.0 202.0 195.8 210.2 200.4 198.9 203.9 215.4 193.9 206.0 206.1 200.7 212.5 203.5 200.6 206.9 216.4 193.0 208.5 208.9 202.4 218.3 203.8 200.6 199.9 211.5 190.5 205.9 203.5 197.4 208.2 200.1 197.5 197.7 211.9 189.2 206.9 200.8 195.0 207.1 202.6 197.8 194.7 208.1 187.9 202.8 198.0 191.3 201.8 196.1 196.3 198.3 203.1 220.5 187.6 214.9 203.9 198.5 204.7 223.2 189.4 215.6 204.6 201.4 205.5 226.0 194.1 215.3 207.9 198.6 207.8 222.3 189.4 217.1 205.8 199.8 205.5 226.5 192.4 214.3 206.6 201.9 206.0 227.3 194.3 213.0 207.0 197.2 204.4 223.6 189.7 209.7 204.8 197.2 206.5 223.3 188.3 210.2 203.6 190. 5 204.5 220.0 185.0 206.9 201.3 202.0 209.6 198.0 211.0 204.4 212.6 201.2 212.4 204.4 211.3 201.9 210.1 204.9 211.8 204.2 215.2 204.8 211.0 196.8 214.0 205.3 211.6 201.6 214.4 207.0 212.2 201.4 215.5 204.8 212.4 198.2 210.0 205.0 212.7 198.8 213.2 201.9 210.5 197.0 211.7 201.5 204.5 207.4 201.3 207.0 207.3 204.6 208.1 206.6 202.6 206.6 206.6 206.7 208.2 207.5 202.1 204.5 204.9 200.8 199.1 201.0 201.4 200.2 203.1 200.2 196.0 202.6 199.8 200.2 202.0 194.1 196.2 196.6 210.8 220.4 219.3 213.6 211.2 222.5 216.3 213.5 212.1 221.6 222.1 212.8 208.7 218.8 215.3 209.3 206.6 219.4 215.5 208.5 202.3 3213.6 212.6 205.8 201.7 211.6 209.9 205.5 202.8 211.1 213.7 208.0 200.6 209.7 213.1 205.0 200.5 207.8 212.9 207.4 197.2 206.3 210.1 203.1 190.5 194.3 20 1 .6 E a s t S o u th C en tra l Birmingham__ ______________ Jackson3____________________ Knoxville 3_ ___________ _____ Louisville___________________ Memphis __________________ Mobile_______ ______________ W e s t S o u th C e n tra l Dallas____ __________________ Houston------ ------- ---------------Little Rock.................. ............ New Orleans__________ ____ M o u n ta in Butte____________ __________ Denver_____________________ Salt Lake City___ __________ P a c ific L o s Angeles................ ............... Portland, Oreg_______________ San Francisco_______________ Seattle............... .......... ............. 1Aggregate costs of foods in each city, weighted to represent total purchases by families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers, have been combined for the United States with the use of population weights. 2Estimated index based on half the usual sample of reports. Remaining reports lost in the mails. Index for Dec. 15, reflects the correct level of food prices for New Haven. 2June 1940=100. 4 Estimated index based on half the usual sample of reports. Remaining reports lost in the mails. Index for Feb. 15, reflects the correct level of food prices for New Orleans, 3 Revised, 7 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 announced. By May, retail butter prices dropped more than 6 percent from the December 1948 level. Storage stocks on May 1 amounted to 15 million pounds compared with 4 million pounds the year before. Creameries were selling below price-sup port levels because of the opportunity for quicker returns and the difficulty of accumulating carlots of uniform grading and packaging necessary in order to participate in the price-support program. During May, the Department of Agriculture pur chased approximately a million pounds of butter, bringing the season total to approximately 2% million pounds. There was not much change in retail butter prices during June and July. However, in the latter part of July, announcements were made of a support price for cheese and an unexpected 3-cent increase in the support price for butter. Butter prices then reversed their trend of the first half of the year and rose from August through December. Total purchases in 1949 were 15 million pounds. Retail prices of cheese, which had been declining contraseasonally, continued to decline through May 1949. At the beginning of the year, cheese was suffering from the largest increase in produc tion of the manufactured dairy products, and competition with lower meat prices. In July, wholesale prices declined to the lowest point since June 1946, and on July 28 a 31.75 cent-per-pound support price was announced. Retail prices then rose through October and remained stable through December, in contrast to the contraseasonal T able 3.— I?idexes of retail prices of food, in large cities combined,l by commodity group, by year, 1928 to 1949, and by month January 1949 to December 1949 [1935-39=1001 Year and month Cere Meats als and poul All try foods bakery and prod fish Total ucts Meats Beef and veal Fruits and vegetables Pork Lamb Chick Fish ens Dairy prod Eggs ucts Bever Fats and ages oils Sugar and sweets Total Fresh Can Dried ned 169.5 159. 5 185.1 210.8 183.8 161. 4 169.0 177.5 125.7 103. 5 113.8 119.1 99.7 104.8 107.9 93.2 94.5 96.5 103.2 130.8 168.8 168.2 177.1 182.4 199.4 205.2 208.1 173. 6 162. 7 193. 5 226.2 194.4 166. 5 173. 5 185. 7 128. 7 105.9 118.9 122.3 98.8 106.2 108.6 92.1 95.1 97.3 104.2 132.8 178.0 177.2 188.2 190.7 201.5 212.4 218.8 124.8 122. 2 132.3 122.9 120. 8 120. 6 124.3 118. 6 103.3 91.1 87.9 103. 9 106.2 100.9 103.2 97.4 92.3 92.4 97.9 121.6 130.6 129. 5 130.2 140.8 166.2 158.0 152.9 175.4 159. 6 159.0 152.4 145.9 153. 9 171.0 158. 7 118. 7 91. 2 88.4 101.1 100.8 96.6 116.0 93.3 93.3 100.6 J06.7 136.3 158.9 164.5 168.2 180.4 263.5 246.8 227.4 131. 5 147. 6 170.3 170.4 163.3 165. 2 164.8 143. 4 124. 6 112. 6 102. 4 107. 6 104.0 99.4 103. 6 97.7 95.5 92. 5 101.5 122.1 124.8 124.3 124.7 139. 6 186.8 205.0 220.7 126.2 134.1 149.1 145.0 132. 8 128. 3 127. 2 119.2 96. 0 71.1 66.4 76. 4 110.3 102.8 105.8 93.5 87.7 82.2 94.0 119.6 126.1 123.3 124.0 152.1 197.5 195.5 148.4 175.4 159.1 124.6 120.0 127. 2 123.1 114.3 107.4 99.1 89. 6 94.3 97 9 100.7 99.6 101.2 97.9 100.6 96.8 106.4 126.5 127.1 126.5 126.5 143.9 180.0 174.0 176.4 205.2 213.3 213.7 224.9 214.5 226.0 218.6 231.5 220.7 234.6 217.9 231.1 210.2 221.2 201.9 211.4 199.8 209.0 194.5 202.3 202.0 212.7 198.2 208.0 159.2 158.6 158.0 157.1 156.3 155.3 154.2 149.7 148.0 147.0 146.2 145.1 228.4 224. 6 227.9 228.3 227.5 227.3 228.1 229.6 230.1 228.5 224.7 224.3 208.7 209.0 208.5 208.2 207.2 207.6 208.2 208.8 211.0 213.8 265.3 292.5 174.7 159.8 155.1 149.8 144.4 142.9 141.0 144.0 148.3 144.5 139. 7 136.7 173.4 174.3 175.6 176.2 176.1 176.5 176.2 176.5 176.8 177.5 178.9 178.8 BY YEAR, 1923 TO 1949 1 2 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 . . 1934 1935_____________ 1936____________ 1937_____________ 1938_____________ 1939________ ____ 1940_____________ 1941_____________ 1942_____________ 1943_____________ 1944..... ................. 1945_____________ 1946_____________ 1947_____________ 1948_____________ 1949— . ........ ........ 124.0 122.8 132.9 137.4 132. 3 130.8 132. 5 126.0 103.9 86.5 84.1 93. 7 100.4 101.3 105.3 97.8 95.2 96.6 105.5 123. 9 138.0 136.1 139.1 159.6 193.8 210.2 201.9 105. 5 107 2 116.0 115.7 113.3 110.1 107. 6 104.3 91.4 82. 6 84. 7 98.3 101.8 100.7 103. 3 99.8 94.5 96.8 97.9 105.1 107.6 108.4 109.0 125.0 155.4 170.9 169.7 101.2 102.4 111.3 117.8 116.0 123.1 127.1 119.1 101.1 79.3 68.9 78. 9 99.9 98.9 105.8 98.9 96.6 95.8 107.5 126.0 133.8 129.9 131.2 161.3 217.1 246.5 233.4 100.7 98.9 98.6 94. 7 106.4 106.5 97.8 98.7 96.6 101.1 94.4 102.8 106.5 110.8 122.5 123.6 124.2 124.7 117.9 118.7 118.0 118.4 150.8 150. 5 214.7 213.6 243. 9 258.5 229.3 241.3 104.7 96.3 95.5 103.4 101.1 101.1 106.6 105.2 104.9 97.9 104.6 96.3 88.9 99.5 93.8 81.1 99.7 94.8 100.1 106.6 102.1 120.4 124.1 122.6 119.9 136.9 146.1 112.2 134.5 151.0 112.6 136.0 154.4 148.2 163.9 174.0 215.9 220.1 183. 2 222.5 246.8 203.2 205.9 251.7 191.5 136.1 139. 0 151. 2 141.7 133.2 137.3 143. 8 121.4 95.6 82.3 77. 9 88. 6 104.2 103.3 101.2 100.3 91.0 93.8 112.2 136.5 161.9 153.9 164.4 168.8 200.8 208.7 201.2 BY PRICE REPORTING PERIOD, 1949 191,9 Jan 15................... Feb. 15.................. Mar. 15................ Apr. 15...... ............ May 15.......... ....... June 15.................. July 15__________ Aug. 15_________ Sept. 15......... ....... Oct. 15— . ........... Nov. 15._........... . Dec. 15_________ 98.2 98.5 101.0 101.3 101.0 110.6 124.5 163.0 206.5 207.6 217.1 236.2 271.4 312.8 314.1 129.4 124.1 128. 1 127.4 130. 7 131. 4 131.0 121.0 102.8 84.9 82.8 90.9 97.5 101.6 105.4 99.6 95.9 101.4 112.0 125.4 134.6 133.6 133.9 165.1 186.2 204.8 186.7 204.8 199.7 201.6 202.8 202.4 204.3 201.7 202.6 204.2 200.6 200.8 197.3 170.5 170.0 170.1 170.3 170.1 169.7 169.5 169.4 169. 7 169.1 169.2 169.2 235.9 221.4 229.6 234.4 232.3 240.6 236.0 239.5 243.6 235.1 229.1 223.2 228.2 212.3 222.5 228.5 228.0 239.3 234.4 237.3 242.0 233.1 226.4 220.0 244.5 220.5 230.3 233.3 235.2 247.8 245.3 246.3 249.9 248.2 248.5 245.2 203.1 196.3 206.4 209.5 203.9 216.0 209.8 221.9 227.6 207.7 189.7 178.3 234.4 228.4 240.7 271.0 275.5 278.4 265.5 247.8 254.7 246.1 242.0 236.1 208.9 199.0 198.9 201.2 190.5 184.4 182.8 191. 5 192.5 184.6 184.5 179.5 1Aggregate costs in each city weighted to represent total purchases of families of wage earners and lower salaried workers have been combined with the use of population weights. 331.7 327.2 325.9 321.3 315.4 312.6 307.7 308. 9 311.9 308.8 300.6 299.0 196.0 192.5 190.3 184.9 182.6 182.0 182.2 184.9 185.3 186.7 186.4 186.2 209.6 179.6 180.1 183.8 190.9 198.0 204.1 222.2 232.6 227.8 207.8 178.0 2 Comparable indexes for the years 1923-34 have been computed by converting indexes from the 1923-25 base to the 1935-39 base, RETAIL PRIORS OF FOOD , 1949 8 T able 4.— Average retail prices of principal foods in large cities combined, by month, 19J+9 1949 Article Aver age for Jan. 15 Feb. 15 Mar. 15 Apr. 15 May 15 June 15 July 15 Aug. 15 Sept. 15 Oct. 15 Nov. 15 Dec. 15 the year Cereals and bakery products: Cereals: Flour, wheat________ ___ 5 pounds.. Corn flakes__________ ___ 11 ounces.. Corn meal__________ _____ pound.. Rice__________ _____ ________ do . . . Rolled oats.................. ___ 20 ounces.. Bakery products: Bread, white________ _____pound.. Vanilla cookies______ ..............do___ Meats, poultry, and fish: Meats: Beef: Round steak____ .......... ..d o ___ Rib roast________ _______ do___ Chuck roast......... _______ do----Hamburger______ _______ do___ Veal: Cutlets................. ..............do___ Pork: Chops.. _______ _______ do___ Bacon, sliced____ _______ do___ Ham, whole_____ _______ do___ Salt pork________ ............d o ___ Lamb: Leg-------------------- _______ d o .... Poultry: Roasting chickens___ ....... ...... do___ Frying chickens:4 New York dressed 8 ______ do___ Dressed and drawn *_____ do----Fish: i Salmon, p in k ............ .16-ounce can.. Dairy products: Butter_________________ ______pound.. Cheese: No. 1 mild Cheddar... _______ do___ Processed American _..... ........do___ Milk: Fresh (delivered)____ _______quart.. Fresh (grocery)_____ _______ do___ Evaporated ______ 14^-ounce can.. Eggs: Fresh_______ _______ _ ______ dozen.. Cents Cents Cents Cents 47.9 16.8 9.1 18.4 16.5 48.3 16.8 9.7 19.1 17.1 48.1 16.8 9.6 19.1 16.8 48.1 16.8 9.5 19.1 16.7 14.0 44.9 13.9 45.2 13.9 44.9 85.3 67.7 55.5 51.3 83.9 69.6 57.8 54.4 100.2 74.3 66.5 63.4 35.7 Cents Cents 48.0 16.8 9.5 19.1 16.5 48.1 16.8 9.5 19.0 16.5 14.0 45.5 14.0 45. 5. 73.9 61.6 50.4 48.5 79.2 64.5 52.7 50.1 81.3 65.2 53.2 50.0 99.2 100.5 99.8 67.0 72.4 65.4 40.0 66.4 68.4 62.7 35.7 73.7 68.1 63.8 35.5 72.5 67.6 65.9 (3 ) 63.0 60.0 (0 0) 61.4 7 47. 3 7 61. 2 56.7 Cents Cents Cents Cents 47.4 16.8 8.7 18.9 16.4 47.5 16.8 8.7 18.4 16.3 47.7 16.7 8.6 17.5 16.3 48.1 16.8 8.5 16.8 16.2 48.1 16.8 8.5 16.6 16.2 14.0 44.6 14.0 44.7 14.0 45.2 14.0 44.4 14.0 44.5 14.0 44.6 89.4 69.0 56.5 52.1 88.9 68.2 56.0 51.7 89.4 68.5 55.6 51.7 90.9 69.6 56.9 51.9 88.1 70.1 58.6 51.6 88.6 70.3 58.3 51.6 87.0 69.7 57.0 51.2 99.0 101.6 99.7 100.8 101.6 100.6 100.1 99.1 75.6 63.6 62.1 33.7 83.2 64.1 64.2 33.8 77.3 64.5 65.4 34.0 83.6 66.1 68.4 35.4 87.0 67.6 68.5 35.7 75.2 70.0 61.3 36.7 66.4 65.0 57.3 37.9 60.2 61.2 57.1 35.3 79.4 80.2 76.5 71.4 73.3 70.9 69.7 (0 (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) (3 ) 0) (0 50.8 64.7 47.8 62.5 46.2 61.0 46.1 59.1 48.5 61.0 48.8 61.1 46.4 60.3 46.1 61.2 44.8 59.7 60.7 60.4 60.1 59.6 57.6 56.9 56.2 50.5 48.2 47.1 Cents Cents 47.7 16.9 9.3 18.6 16.5 47.4 16.9 8.7 18.7 16.4 14.0 45.4 14.0 44.6 83.4 65.7 53.0 50.3 100.4 75.7 67.4 65.0 35.0 69.4 78.1 59.9 0) 0) 61.2 Cents 68.0 (3 ) 72.5 75.0 74.1 73.4 71.7 70.8 70.3 70.2 72.3 72.8 72.9 73.3 73.5 (8 ) (9 ) 63.9 (9 ) 60.8 (9 ) 60.0 (9 ) 59.1 (9 ) 58.8 (9 ) 58.8 (9 ) (8 ) 51.2 («) 51.7 (8 ) 52.0 (8 ) 52.5 (8 ) 52. 5 (8 ) 52.5 21.1 19.8 13.1 22.0 20.9 14.6 21.7 20.6 14.3 21.7 20.3 13.7 20.8 19.6 13.3 20.6 19.3 13.0 20.6 19.3 12.9 20.6 19.4 12.8 20.8 19.7 12.7 20.8 19.6 12.6 21.1 19.8 12.6 21.0 19.6 12.7 21.0 19.5 12.5 69.6 72.5 62.1 62.4 63.6 66.1 68.6 70.7 76.9 80.5 78.8 71.9 61.6 13.4 16.2 47.6 14.4 16.5 46.9 15.2 16.6 49.7 16.0 16.5 49.0 16.3 16.6 54.9 16.2 17.2 59.1 13.0 17.0 61.0 10.1 16.6 56.7 9.7 16.4 52.0 8.6 16.5 55.3 8. 7 16.8 47.4 9.2 16.5 41.6 25.5 6.2 10.7 15.3 6.4 81.0 14.5 11.0 00 24.2 6.8 10.6 18.1 6.4 85.4 0) 11.5 00 21.2 8.1 9.9 18.4 6.1 85.5 15.3 12.1 00 22.8 7.5 9.7 20.0 6.4 88.9 13.7 13.9 00 20.4 8.2 10.0 13.5 7.7 97.9 11.1 16.2 00 19.1 6.5 10.1 10.9 8.4 93.6 10.3 (2 ) 00 18.4 6.3 10.0 12.9 7.7 84.2 0) (2 ) 00 16.8 6. 7 10.3 17.3 6.6 80.1 0) 14.0 00 17.0 6.4 10.6 21.0 7.4 75.1 14.9 10.7 00 15.0 5.6 10.8 16.4 7.9 70.9 0°) 9.5 15.3 21.6 5.4 11.8 18.5 8.5 70.1 (1 ) 0 9.5 25.7 26.8 6.2 11.1 13.1 9.1 70.5 (1 ) 0 10.2 26.7 32.6 39.3 32.5 39.7 32.4 39.7 32.5 39.7 32.2 39.7 31.5 39.7 31.2 40.0 30.5 39.7 30.0 39.3 29.4 39.0 28.9 38.4 28.5 38.1 19.9 15.3 16.2 22.3 17.6 19.8 15.3 16.0 22.5 16.6 19.8 15.1 15.9 22.8 16.9 19.7 15.0 15.8 23.0 16.7 19.5 14.9 15.8 23.0 16.6 19.3 14.9 15.7 23.1 16.4 19.3 14.8 15.4 23.3 16.4 19.3 14.8 14.5 23.4 16.5 19.2 14.6 14.3 23.5 16.5 19.0 14.7 14.2 23.6 16.1 18.9 14.7 14.2 23.5 15.5 18.6 14.7 14.2 23.6 15.3 55.4 52.3 52.4 52.3 52.2 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.4 52.9 53.6 66.6 73.4 Fats and oils: L ard...................... *-------Hydrogenated shortening. ..............do___ Salad dressing.................. ............ .pint.. Margarine....... ................. ...........pound.. 19.2 34.9 35.2 30.8 24.3 40.9 38.6 36.3 19.9 38.8 37.8 34.0 19.6 36.6 36.7 33.2 18.6 36.2 36.1 31.1 18.1 34.6 35.3 29.4 18.1 34.3 34.6 29.0 17.9 33.9 34.0 28.7 19.3 32.9 33.7 29.7 20.0 33.0 34.5 31.3 19.5 32.9 34.1 29.3 17.8 32.8 33.7 28.8 17.0 31.9 33.6 28.5 Sugar and sweets: Sugar___________ ______ - _______ do___ 9.5 9.4 9.4 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.7 Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits: 12.6 Apples_____________ ....... ..p oun d.. Bananas____________ ______ do___ 16.6 Oranges, size 200 ------ ______ dozen.. 51.8 Fresh vegetables: 20.7 Beans, green______ ______pound.. Cabbage____________ ______ do___ 6.7 10.5 Carrots_________ . . . ______bunch.. 16.3 Lettuce ___________ _______ head.. 7.4 Onions ------------------- ____.pound.. Potatoes____________ ... 15 pounds._ 81.9 (10) Spinach ....... ........... ______pound.. Sweetpotatoes......... _______ do___ 1211.9 Tomatoes................... .......... ..d o — 00 Canned fruits: can.. Peaches____ ______ ..N o. 31.0 39.4 Pineapple ............ . _______ do___ Canned vegetables: 19.4 Corn------ ---------------- ___ No. 2 can.. 14.9 Peas_________ ______ _______ do— 15.2 Tomatoes___________ _______ do___ 23.1 Dried fruits: Prunes_____ ______pound.. 16.4 Dried vegetables: Navy beans____do___ Beverages: Coflee............... _______ do— 1 Cost of fresh and/or frozen fish are included in the index, but average prices are not computed. 2 Inadequate reports. 3 Not priced after March. 4 First priced in April. 3 Average for 29 cities. « Average for 27 cities. 7 Average for 9 months. 8 Not priced after June. 8 First priced in July. Not priced after September. 1 First priced in October. 1 “ Average for 10 months. RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 decline of the year before. Forty million pounds of cheese were purchased during the year under the price-support program. Eggs.—Egg prices declined 18.1 percent over the year to the lowest level since April 1947 and the lowest December price since 1942. In Janu ary, prices declined 3% percent, and in February more than 14 percent, as production increased and meat prices declined. Storage stocks remained small. In March, prices began a rise which lasted through September. In the latter part of Febru ary, supplies were held up by transportation diffi culties. By mid-March, supplies increased, mak ing increased support buying necessary. Sizable buying for hatcheries, higher meat prices, and Lenten demand also helped to keep prices up. By the end of March 1949, the Government had bought as many dried eggs as during the year of 1948. Instead of expected price declines, prices rose with increased demand as meat prices advanced and egg production started to decline in April. It was necessary to draw on storage supplies. The 1949 price peak for eggs was reached in September, 2 months earlier than usual. By October, prices started to decline as record high production and consumer resistance had their effect. Price declines were larger in November as production continued to increase markedly be cause of the increase in the number of layers on farms. Another weakening factor was the ex pected decline in the support price after January 1. During the November holiday season, buying increased but then slumped, making it necessary for the Government to purchase larger amounts of dried eggs. Fruits and vegetables.— Retail prices of the com bined fruit and vegetable groups increased 3.1 per cent over the year. Prices of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 6.0 percent, more than offsetting decreases of 9.0 percent for canned fruits and vegetables and 2.4 percent for dried fruits and vegetables. Prices for fresh fruits and vegetables rose during the first 5 months of 1949 and then declined throughout the remainder of the year with the exception of November. Record highs were reached during the year for apples (May), bananas (June), and lettuce (September). In M ay 1949, 9 white potatoes reached the highest level since April 1926, and sweetpotatoes, the highest level since July 1943. In October 1949, orange prices were the highest reported since October 1930. In December 1949, prices were higher than in Decem ber 1948 for green beans (42 percent), onions (41 percent), cabbage (15 percent), carrots (over 12 percent), and bananas (IK percent). Prices were lower for apples (27K percent), lettuce (over 7 percent), white potatoes (6 percent), oranges (4% percent), and sweetpotatoes (1 percent). Prices of fresh fruits and vegetables rose much more than seasonally in January (8.7 percent) and February (5.4 percent) as the result of frost and drought damage. In January, prices of all items in the group rose except bananas and onions. In February, onion prices remained unchanged, whereas banana prices started to rise, and oranges, green beans, and carrots declined. In March, April, and May, price increases were smaller on the average. March increases were minimized by decreases for green beans, carrots, and onions; April by decreases for bananas, oranges, cabbage, carrots, and spinach; and May by decreases for green beans, spinach, and lettuce. In June, prices decreased contraseasonally, starting the decline which lasted through October as supplies became more plentiful. Prices for most items increased in November, with green bean prices forced upward 44 percent by frost damage. Apple prices, after reaching a record high in May, declined steadily through October with heavy supplies of the new crop. To help stabilize the apple market, plans were made to sell apples for school lunches, and to pay export sub sidies to encourage overseas buying. Production of apples in 1949 was slightly over 50 percent more than the short crop of 1948. In December, prices declined. Prices of canned fruits and vegetables declined 9.0 percent from December 1948 to December 1949, with decreases for all items. Canned toma toes and peaches dropped 12 percent, corn percent, peas 4 percent, and pineapple 3% percent. The decrease was general throughout the year, with commercial production of fruit about equal to that of 1948, and vegetable production some what higher than the year before. Prices of dried fruits and vegetables decreased 2.4 percent over the year. Prices of dried beans dropped 15 per- RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 19^9 10 T a bll 5.— Indexes of retail prices of principal foods in large cities combined, by month, 19/+9 [1935-39=100] 1949 A rticle Cereals and b a k ery prod u cts: Cereals: F lou r, w h e a t .. ................ . . . 5 p o u n d s .. C orn flak es____________ ...1 1 o u n c e s .. C o r n m e a L . ................. ______p o u n d .. R ice i - ................................. ________d o ____ R o lled oats 1 2__................. . .. 2 0 o u n c e s ._ B a k ery p rod u cts: B read, w h ite ___________ ______p o u n d .. V a nilla cook ies________ .............. d o -----M eats, p ou ltry , and fish: M eats: B eef: R o u n d steak ............ ............ . d o ____ R ib r o a s t__________ ............ . d o ____ C h u ck roa st_______ ________d o ____ H am bu rger 2............ ________ d o ____ V eal: C u tlets......... ............. ............ . d o ____ P ork : C h o p s _____________ ............ . d o ____ B a con , s lic e d ........... ............ . d o ____ H a m , w h o le ............. ________d o ____ Salt p o r k __________ ________ d o ____ Lam b: L e g ------------------------- ________ d o ____ P o u lt r y _____ _____ _________ ________ d o ____ F ish : Fish (fresh, frozen )____ ________ d o ____ Salm on, p in k __________ 16-ounce c a n .. D a ir y p rodu cts: B u tte r _________________________ ..p o u n d — C h e e s e ..____ _______ _______ ________ d o ____ M ilk : Fresh (d e liv e r e d )_____________ q u a r t .. Fresh (g rocery ).......... ________ d o ____ E v a p o ra te d ................. 14 ^ -o u n ce c a n .. Eggs: F resh _____________ ____ __ _______d o z e n .. F ruits an d vegetables: Fresh fruits: A p p le s _________________ ______ p o u n d .. B ananas_______________ ________ d o — Oranges, size 200______ _______d o z e n ._ Fresh vegetables: Beans, green _____ . . . ______ p o u n d .. C a b b a ge_______________ _________ d o ____ Carrots________________ _______bu n ch _ L e t t u c e .._____ ________ _____ _ head . O n ion s_______________ .______ pou n d . Potatoes ____________ _—15 p o u n d s .. S p in ach ______________________ p o u n d .. S w eetpotatoes_________ _________d o ____ . . d o ___ T om atoes 4____________ ____ C anned fruits: Peach es________________.N o . c a n . .. P in ea p p le _____________ _________d o . . . . C anned vegetables: C o r n ______________________ N o . 2 ca n . Peas____________ ________________d o ____ T o m a to e s _______________________d o ____ D ried fruits: P ru n es___________ D rie d vegetables: N a v y beans._________d o ____ Beverages: C oflee_____________ _________ d o ____ Fats and oils: L a r d _______________________ _________ d o ____ H v d rog en a ted sh orten in g. _______ d o ____ Salad d r e s s in g .............. ........ _________ p i n t .. M a rg a rin e ............................... _______p o u n d __ Sugar an d sw eets: S u g a r.__________ ___________ ________ d o — 1July 1947=100. 2 February 1943=100. 3 Spinach not priced after September. Average for the Jan. 15 F e b . 15 M a r. 15 A p r. 15 M a y 15 June 15 J u ly 15 A u g. 15 Sept. 15 O ct. 15 N o v . 15 D e c. 15 year 185.5 178.0 182.8 103.4 149.6 187.0 177.4 189.0 107.2 155.5 186.4 177.8 186.4 107.4 152.2 186.3 178.0 185.1 107.3 151.8 186.0 178.2 184.7 107.5 150.0 186.3 178.6 184.6 106.6 149.3 184.9 178.7 181.7 104.6 149.2 183.9 179.0 181.7 104.9 149.0 183.6 178.0 182.4 106.1 148.4 184.2 177.8 182.2 103.3 148.1 184.8 177.3 179.8 98.4 148.0 186.3 177.7 178.2 94.1 147.4 186.6 177.9 178.2 93.5 146.7 163.9 192.5 163.2 195.6 163.3 194.3 163.5 194.4 164.0 194.5 163.8 194.0 164.3 190.9 164.2 190.8 164.1 191.3 164.2 193.2 164.1 190.1 164.1 190.4 164.0 190.6 252.6 235.0 247.5 165.8 248.3 241.7 257.7 175.9 218. 5 213.8 224.3 156.8 234.5 224.1 235.0 161.9 240.7 226.5 237.3 161.8 246.8 228.2 236.6 162.7 264.6 239.6 252.0 168.4 263.1 237. 0 249.6 167.2 264.7 237.8 248.1 167.2 269.2 241.7 253.8 168.0 260.8 243.7 261.3 166.8 262.2 244.2 260.3 166.8 257.5 242.1 254.5 165.7 251.1 248.7 251.9 250.0 251.5 248.1 254.7 249.7 252.6 254.6 252.1 250.8 248.3 225.4 174.7 215.8 171.2 203.4 190.0 222.5 191.6 201.6 179.5 213.3 171.1 223.5 178.8 217.2 169.7 229.6 176.8 221.2 167.5 229.5 166.9 211.3 161.4 252.4 168.4 218.6 161.9 234.6 169.4 222.5 163.1 253.6 173.5 232.7 169.5 264.0 177.6 233.0 171.3 228.3 183.9 208.5 176.1 201.6 170.7 195.1 181.8 182.7 160.8 194.2 169.0 255.7 191.5 238.1 208.9 232.1 199.0 244.5 198.9 275.3 201.2 279.8 190.5 282.8 184.4 269.7 182.8 251.7 191.5 258.7 192.5 250.1 184.6 245.8 184.5 239.9 179.5 261.8 432.2 272.4 468.3 267.2 466.3 266.8 462.7 261.4 460.7 254.5 458.4 252.2 454. 4 251.1 439.0 254.4 434.1 260. l 428.8 268.4 385.7 266.4 367.9 267.1 359.8 199.3 231.0 205.9 245.8 203.6 234.0 201.8 230.9 197.0 227.5 194. 6 226.5 193.2 226.4 192.9 225.8 198.5 228.6 200.1 230.2 200.4 232.2 201.3 232.4 201.9 232.2 171.9 175.8 184.2 201.2 179.9 185. 7 204.6 209.6 177.5 182.4 200.2 179.6 176. 2 179.8 192.5 180.1 170.1 174.4 186.5 183.8 168.4 171.6 181.9 190.9 167.9 171.6 180.5 198.0 168.4 172.2 179.2 204.1 169.8 174.6 177.5 222.2 169.8 174.1 177.3 232.6 172.3 175.6 176.3 227.8 171. 3 174.2 178.1 207.8 171.1 173.4 175.7 178.0 239.9 275.0 182.9 255. 7 267.7 168.4 275.5 272.7 165.7 289.8 275.2 175.8 306.2 272.8 173.2 311.4 274.1 194.2 309. 9 284.3 209.0 248.1 280.7 215.5 192.1 275. 0 200.1 184.7 271.4 183.4 165.0 273.9 195.3 165.8 277.9 167.3 174.9 273.9 146.8 190.2 175.0 195.2 197.5 179.1 227.3 (3 ) 244.9 (5) 234. 6 163. 7 199.9 185.9 155.7 225.5 202.3 211.4 (5) 222.0 179.2 196.7 220.2 153.9 237.9 259. 4 220.9 ( s) 194.3 211.9 184. 3 223.3 148.1 237.2 213.8 234.2 (5) 209.4 197.8 181.0 243.2 155.3 246.5 190.4 268. 5 ( 5) 186.8 214.3 187.4 163.6 187.8 271.6 154.2 312.4 (5) 175. 0 170.0 188.9 131.8 204.3 259.7 143.8 330.4 (5 ) 168. 5 164.2 187.2 156.5 186.6 233. 5 177.2 322.6 (5 ) 154.1 176.3 191.3 209.3 160.3 222.1 193.0 270.8 ( 6) 156.4 168.1 197.0 254.7 179.3 208.4 206.8 206.1 (») 137.4 147.9 202.0 199.7 191.9 196.0 (3 ) 183. 0 100.0 198.1 143.0 219.9 222.9 204.9 194.1 (3 ) 182.6 168.8 245 9 164.0 206.8 158.3 220.9 195. 3 (3 ) 195.8 175.4 160.8 181.0 169.0 180.4 168.4 182.6 168.2 182.5 168.4 182.5 166.8 182.2 163.5 182.5 161.6 183.7 158. 3 183.0 155.5 180.9 152. 4 179.4 149.8 177.0 148.2 175.2 156.0 114.1 168.9 227.4 223.7 220.3 160.2 117.1 179.6 218.9 239.1 208.3 159.4 117.0 178.3 220.9 226.4 208.6 159.8 115.3 177.1 224.0 230.0 208.1 158.8 115.0 175.4 226.4 227.4 207.8 156.9 113.8 175.2 226.2 225.7 206.8 155.7 113.8 174.5 226.9 223.9 207.2 155.7 113.5 171.8 228.9 223.1 207.8 155.3 112.9 161.4 230.2 224.7 208.4 155.1 112.3 158.8 231.3 224.4 210.6 153.1 112.8 158.4 232.0 219.2 213. 4 152.4 112.6 158.4 230.7 211.7 264.8 149.8 112. 5 157.8 231.8 209.0 291.9 128.5 168.5 145.5 168.8 163.2 197.2 159.3 199.0 133. 2 187.1 156.1 186.7 131.2 176.9 151.6 181.9 125.0 174.9 149.2 170.5 121.2 167.1 145.9 161.3 121.4 165.4 143.0 159.0 120.1 163.7 140.2 157.7 129.4 158.9 139.3 163.0 133. 9 159.3 142.6 171.8 130.4 159.1 140.9 161.0 119.3 158.5 139.3 157.9 114.2 154.3 138.6 156.1 177.3 171.2 175.1 176.5 177.1 176.9 177.4 177.1 177.4 177.7 178.4 179.8 179.7 4 3 October 1949=100. Tomatoes first priced in October. RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 19/f9 cent as the result of a large carry-over, a record 1949 crop, lowered exports, and adjustment to a new-crop support level based on 80 percent of August 15 parity instead of the former 90 percent. Prunes rose 7 percent because of short supplies of large sizes. Beverages.— Prices of coffee averaged 40.8 per cent higher in December 1949 than in December 1948. During the spring months, coffee rose slightly, then declined. In June, prices started the increase that gained momentum as the year progressed. Fractional price rises occurred during the summer. Although a short crop was forecast and European demand was expanding, these were not taken seriously at first and roasters continued to buy sparingly in spite of small stocks. How ever, reports persisted that the Brazilian crop might be only half as large as the previous year’s. B y mid-October, instead of anticipated lower prices, the prices of futures reached new highs. Between mid-October and mid-November retail coffee prices soared over 24 percent. By midDecember another rise of over 10 percent took place as coffee prices reached new highs for the fourth consecutive month. Fats and oils.— Prices of fats and oils dropped 26 percent over the year. The decline was general for all items in the group. Price decreases ranged from 15 percent for salad dressing to 37 percent for lard. At the beginning of the year, there were sur pluses of fats and oils, and prices were at the lowest level since October 1946. In mid-January prices of fats and oils dropped more than 5 per cent below the mid-December level. Another drop of 8% percent occurred in mid-February, along with a general price decrease in other items. Although in February the situation was eased somewhat by the termination of most export con trols for fats and oils, and exports were running 76 percent higher than in 1948, prices continued downward. This downward trend was influenced by uncertainty over the fate of the margarine tax 11 law and the continued improvement of world supplies of fats and oils. By mid-July, prices of fats and oils had declined 23K percent from the December 28, 1948 level. On July 27, the United States Department of Agriculture announced that the Commodity Credit Corporation would support the 1949 crop of cottonseed at $49.50 a ton compared with the former price of $35. Cottonseed oil prices then rose, followed by soybean oil prices. By mid-August, reversing their rather steady downward trend of the last year, prices of lard increased 8 percent and margarine increased 3 percent. By mid-September, all items in the group were higher. After increases of 2 percent in August and 3 percent in September, prices of fats and oils again declined through the remainder of the year. Contributing to this decline were the large cotton and soybean crops, fear that devaluation of the pound might result in decreasing the present large exports of oils, and increased production of lard because of heavy hog marketing. By December, the price of 17 cents for lard was the lowest since August 1942. Hydrogenated shortening at approximately 32 cents, salad dressing at nearly 34 cents, and margarine at 28% cents were the lowest since October 1946. Sugar and sweets.— Retail sugar prices increased 3.4 percent during the year 1949. Labor troubles during the year resulted in wage increases and caused difficulties in transportation of sugar from Hawaii to the United States. Retail Prices and Indexes of Individual Foods in 1949 Average retail prices and indexes of individual foods for large cities combined are presented in tables 4 and 5 for each month in 1949. Annual average retail prices of individual foods in each of 56 cities, for 1949, are shown in table 6. RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 12 T a b l e 6.— Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949 MIDDLE ATLANTIC NEW ENGLAND Article United States Cereals and bakery products: Cereals: C en ts Flour, wheat____5 pounds, _ 47.9 Corn flakes_____ 11 ounces,_ 16.8 Corn meal________ pound. 9.1 Rice______________ do, , 18.4 Rolled oats_____ 20 ounces , 16.5 Bakery products: Bread, white______ pound_, 14.0 Vanilla cookies______ do___ 44.9 Meats, poultry, and fish: Meats: Beef: Round steak____ do___ 85.3 Rib roast______ do ,_ 67.7 Chuck roast_____ do___ 55.5 Hamburger____ do ,_ 51.3 Veal: Cutlets....... ......d o,,_ 100.2 Pork: Chops_______ _do,_ 74.3 Bacon, sliced_ do __ _ 66.5 Ham, whole,— _do__ 63.4 Salt pork_______ do,_ 35.7 Lamb: Leg_________ do__ 72.5 Poultry: Roasting chickens___ do___ (9 Frying chickens:8 New York dress- do---- M7.3 ed.® D r e s s e d and do___ 861. 2 drawn.7 Fish:’ Salmon, pink, 16-ounce can,. 56.7 Dairy products: Butter,..........................pound.. 72.5 Cheese: (i°) No. 1 mild Cheddar__ do___ Processed Am erican,do___ C1 1) Milk: Fresh (delivered)___quart, _ 21.1 Fresh (.grocery)_____ do___ 19.8 Evaporated. 14^-ounce can,. 13.1 Eggs: Fresh--------------------- dozen.. 69.6 Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits: Apples,__________ pound. _ 12.6 Bananas___________ do. _ 16.6 Oranges, size 200____dozen.. 51.8 Fresh vegetables: Beans, green............pound.. 20.7 Cabbage___________ do___ 6.7 Carrots___________bunch.. 10.5 Lettuce____________ head. 16.3 Onions___________ pound . 7.4 Potatoes_______15 pounds., 81.9 Spinach______ ____pound.. 09 Sweetpotatoes_______do___ 2 11.9 ( 13) Tomatoes__________ do___ Canned fruits: Peaches______ No. can,. 31.0 39.4 Pineapple____ ____ ,,do___ Canned vegetables: Corn.............. _._No. 2 can,. 19.4 Peas_______________ do___ 14.9 Tomatoes...................do___ 15.2 Dried fruits: Prunes___pound.. 23.1 Dried vegetables: Navy beans........... ...d o ___ 16.4 Beverages: Coffee__________ do___ 55.4 Fats and oils: Lard__________________ do___ 19.2 Hydrogenated shortening, do___ 34.9 Salad dressing__________ pint.. 35.2 Margarine___________ pound.. 30.8 Sugar and sweets: Sugar____ do___ 9.5 See footnotes at end of table. Port Man New New Phila Pitts Fall Boston Bridge River chester Haven land, Provi Buffalo Newark York delphia burgh port Maine dence C en ts 46.9 16.0 10.3 19.0 16.1 C en ts 49.6 16.2 11.2 17.8 17.0 C en ts 49.3 16.7 11.2 17.6 16.6 14.3 0) 13.8 39.6 15.0 0) 97.8 64.1 58.2 58. 5 97.2 94.3 67.4 61.8 59.3 103.3 95.2 64.2 59.7 0) 100.3 77.3 64. 4 64.8 26.6 74.1 76.3 64.8 64.1 25.0 73.3 78.9 65.8 64.9 27.3 73.3 C en ts 50.2 17.7 10.6 17.6 16.6 C en ts 348.6 3 16.4 8 11.0 3 17.3 316.5 C en ts 49.7 17.3 11.1 18.6 16.5 C en ts 48.0 16.0 10.8 17.5 15.8 C en ts C en ts 47.9 16.0 10.9 2 16.9 16.1 47.6 16.2 10.5 * 19.2 16.5 C en ts 47.2 17.5 11.0 18.3 16.4 C en ts 47.7 16.5 10.2 17.8 15.9 C en ts 48.6 16.9 10.7 18.2 16.7 Roch ester C en ts 49.8 16.4 10.8 17.6 16.8 314.0 338.9 14.1 339.8 14.1 42.0 14.3 45.9 14.5 38.8 14.9 (9 15.0 40.0 14.8 0) 14.0 0) 95.3 395.3 63.9 365.1 58.7 362.2 57.6 360.0 103.2 3 107. 6 90.1 61.9 256.3 56.8 (9 94.0 64.5 56.1 56.2 103.2 76.7 63.2 52. 5 48. 7 95.3 89.2 67.8 53.8 55.8 110.6 88.8 69.5 54.5 52.0 109.1 92.0 68.1 53.4 50.7 115.3 84.5 68.8 58.2 51.7 97.9 80.4 64.6 55.0 49.9 103.6 377.6 363. 4 364.2 326.9 373.5 74.4 61.1 62.8 28.1 72.0 76.8 64.3 63.3 25.3 73.0 76.3 60.8 *61.7 0) *68.5 76.7 66.1 63.8 40.6 69.8 76.6 69.6 65.1 (9 69.8 77.2 68.9 65.6 40.5 72.4 76.7 64.7 61.1 36.4 75.9 78.2 59.8 62.8 46.3 72.6 (9 13.4 47.4 76.2 64.0 62.6 26.1 73.4 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 (9 846.1 846.3 846.1 846. 5 0) 844.9 845.9 0) 844.9 845.8 «44.6 (9 8 51.3 864. 2 2 53.7 56.3 56.3 56.7 355.1 57.0 52.7 56.2 0) 57.0 54.8 60.2 58.0 72.2 72.8 71.4 69.3 372.4 69.6 72.8 71.1 73.5 73.4 73.3 74.0 71.7 ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) 09 C1 1) C1 1) 09 09 C1 1) 09 09 09 (i°) 09 (i°) 09 23.4 21.3 13.6 71.6 23.7 23.3 13.2 72.7 22.3 21.8 13.8 70.2 22.4 21.5 13.8 69.8 322.8 322.4 3 13.4 372.5 21.7 21.7 13.9 70.5 09 23.4 21.7 13.1 70.0 22.6 20.1 12.9 70.5 24.1 21.6 13.5 76.1 23.3 20.5 13.5 77.0 20.9 20.5 13.2 74.4 21.7 21.2 13.2 70.5 21.7 21.0 13.5 71.5 10.7 16.0 48.3 11.9 16.5 48.2 12.2 16. 2 52.0 10.5 3 16.3 56.2 3 12.1 3 15.7 346.3 3 10.8 16.1 44.9 11.8 16.5 42.9 12.0 17.5 54.7 212.5 15.4 52.4 313.6 15.9 54.9 12.6 16.0 46.1 10.7 17.3 49.3 s 10.9 16.5 53.1 21.5 7.4 11.6 18.7 7.5 74.0 21.7 7.2 12.8 18.0 7.5 79.2 0) 7.4 12.0 19.0 7.7 69.3 0) 7.1 11.3 18.3 7.8 69.3 322.6 3 7.3 3 12.2 3 17.3 37.4 377.2 0) 6.2 10.6 17.3 7.4 65.2 22.7 7.0 12.0 18.7 7.4 75.6 19.4 7.1 12.1 18.7 7.4 82.2 20.5 7.4 12.1 17.8 7.6 82.3 21.0 7.2 11.9 18.0 7.5 82.2 19.8 7.1 11.3 17.3 7.9 83.0 22.5 6.4 9.8 17.1 6.5 68.1 ( 13 ) (9 09 33.2 39.6 32.3 38.7 32.3 38.4 332.6 339.0 35.0 240.4 31.8 38.0 21.5 6.2 10.4 16.6 7.5 69.6 (1) 2 0) 09 33.1 0) 19.6 16.0 16.2 22.8 20.5 3 16.9 15.7 23.8 19.5 15.4 14.7 22.3 19.5 15.9 14.8 22.6 319.3 3 17.8 3 14.9 323.3 20.5 16.7 16.8 23.6 18.7 15.1 15.1 22.4 18.7 58.6 18.2 57.2 18.7 56.8 18.6 55.9 3 17.0 355.2 3 18.9 56.8 20.7 35.0 36.8 29.4 20.3 35.5 39.5 30.3 9.5 19.3 35.2 35.6 30.3 9.3 19.2 35.3 39.4 30.7 9.4 320.4 335. 2 337.3 330.7 3 9.2 19.8 35.3 37.1 31.5 9.5 ( 12 ) 0) ( 12 ) '0 ( ! 3) ( ! 3) 31.5 38.7 9.2 ( 12 ) 3 11.6 ( 12 ) ( 12 ) (9 ( 13 ) ( 12 ) (9 ( 13 ) ( 12 ) 2 10.9 ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) 711.5 3 12.2 30.6 39.1 32.0 39.7 11.9 09 29.4 37.3 18.3 15.4 15.6 22.7 19.5 15.5 15.5 23.7 20.3 15.6 15.5 23.9 18.4 55.6 15.7 54.9 18.0 55.8 19.3 35.2 35.9 29.4 9.2 18.8 35.2 32.3 31.7 9.6 19.9 36.0 38.5 31.3 9.3 ( 13 ) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) ( 12 ) 13.0 ( 13 ) ( 10 ) 09 ( ! 2) 0) ( 13 ) 33.4 41.5 34.3 40.1 19.5 15.5 16.0 22.8 19.0 13.5 15.4 24.3 19.3 17.0 17.2 23.7 18.5 55.3 16.1 53.9 15.7 56.1 16.9 54.4 20.4 36.1 39.4 31.4 18.5 34.3 33.8 31.3 18.2 34.9 36.0 31.5 9.1 1 9.8 20.4 35.5 33.8 30.9 9.7 9.3 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 13 T able 6.— Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949— Continued Article MID DLE AT LAN TIC— Con. Scran ton Cereals and bakery products: Cereals: C en ts Flour, wheat....... 5 pounds.. 46.3 17.3 Cornflakes......... 11 ounces.. 11.4 Corn meal....... ....... pound.. Rice___ _________ do___ 17.8 Rolled oats_____ 20 ounces.. 16.5 Bakery products: 14.4 Bread, white........... pound.. Vanilla cookies........ ..do___ 39.2 Meats, poultry, and fish: Meats: Beef: Round steak___>..do___ 86.0 66.1 Rib roast________do___ 57.3 Chuck roast_____ do___ 52.1 Hamburger....... ..do___ Veal: Cutlets...... ....... do___ 106.9 Pork: 75.9 Chops__________ do___ Bacon, sliced........ do___ 64.6 Ham, whole_____ do___ 62.6 40.6 Salt pork...... ....... do___ 73.7 Lamb: Leg......... ....... do___ Poultry: Roasting chickens...... do___ (4 ) Frying chickens:® New York dressed • do___ M5.6 Dressed and drawn i d o __ Fish:® Salmon, pink.. 16-ounce can.. 256.0 Dairy products: Butter.................. .........pound.. 70.6 Cheese: ( 10 ) No. 1 mild Cheddar__ do___ Processed American...do_ _ 00 Milk: 21.6 Fresh (delivered)___ quart. _ Fresh (grocery)_____ do___ 22.0 12.9 Evaporated. 14^-ounce can.. Eggs: Fresh_____ ______.dozen.. 70.8 Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits: Apples___________ pound.. 10.7 15.4 Bananas....... ............ .do___ Oranges, size 200 . . . dozen.. 47.5 Fresh vegetables: Beans, green......... .pound.. 20.1 5.9 Cabbage.......... ..........do___ Carrots.................... bunch. _ 11.2 Lettuce____ _______ head.. 17.1 6.8 Onions___________ pound.. Potatoes_______15 pounds.. 64.6 ( 12 ) Spinach........ ...........pound.. 11.4 Sweetpotatoes............ do___ ( 13 ) Tomatoes__________ do___ Canned fruits: Peaches . . .......No. 2^ can.. 31.8 Pineapple................. .do___ 39.8 Canned vegetables: Corn__________ No. 2 can.. 19.4 Peas_______________do___ 13.6 Tomatoes.___ ______do___ 13.8 Dried fruits: Prunes___pound.. 0 ) Dried vegetables: Navy beans................ do----- ®16.7 52.4 Beverages: Coffee...................do___ Fats and oils: 18.5 Lard..................... .......... do----Hydrogenated shortening-.do___ 34.6 Salad dressing........ .......... pint_. 34.0 30.1 M argarine..................... pound.. 9.5 Sugar and sweets: Sugar.........do----Spe footnotes at end of table. WEST NORTH CENTRAL EAST NORTH CENTRAL Chi cago C en ts 46.3 16.1 10.7 18.5 16.0 Cincin Cleve Colum Detroit Indian Mil Peoria Spring- Cedar Kansas Minne Omaha apolis nati bus apolis waukee land field Rapids City C en ts 49.2 16.1 10.3 18.5 16.8 C en ts 47.3 18.2 11.4 20.3 16.3 C en ts 47.2 16.5 10.1 18.1 16.3 C en ts 47.0 16.8 10.7 18.0 16.6 C en ts 49.6 17.1 9.6 19.6 16.7 C en ts 46.9 15.9 11.2 19.0 16.2 C en ts 46.8 16.6 12.0 317.6 17.0 C en ts C en ts C en ts 45. 7 17. 5 12.0 18.4 17.0 47.1 18.4 11.4 2 18.8 16.9 45.6 17.8 11.0 16.7 16.7 C en ts 48.5 17.5 11.1 17.5 16.5 C en ts 46.6 17.3 10.8 16.9 17.0 13.0 54.3 13.0 35.2 13.6 48.8 12.5 46.3 13.3 47.1 13.0 52.9 12.7 3 57.0 13.5 53.0 14.0 (0 13.3 51.1 13.1 54.7 13.0 52.7 13.1 50.9 83.5 68.6 56.5 50.7 96.7 83.2 64.2 54.9 51.5 97.3 79.4 67.7 55.0 49.0 97.6 81.2 65.7 55.5 51.2 93.7 81.1 64.8 55.3 50.3 95.7 85.0 66.4 55.3 50.4 95.9 80.6 65.3 57.9 53.4 89.5 83.7 0) 55.5 52.4 3 91.3 82.3 60.1 53.5 49.9 87.9 79.8 56.8 53.2 49.5 84.7 81.5 66.3 55.1 45. 4 89.4 82.4 68.8 58.2 50. 2 88.2 81.0 65.6 53.1 47.6 86.7 75.0 66.9 61.1 40.2 72.8 73.8 66.6 63.7 33.5 80.3 74.6 62.6 61.7 39.7 74.2 72.7 65.0 62.2 34.7 3 78.5 75.6 64.9 63.5 37.6 73.3 72.0 63.7 61.6 235. 8 2 78.5 71.5 68.8 62.5 40.0 74.3 72.7 67.2 62.2 40.6 0) 70.3 66.1 61.7 237.8 (0 66. 7 64.6 59.8 41.1 0) 68.8 66.3 60.6 35.9 381.0 71.3 69.3 61.6 38.3 71.7 64.6 65.2 61.0 35.8 (0 (4 ) (4 ) (4 > (0 (4 ) (4 ) (4 ) * 63.3 861.4 861. 6 0) 864.6 55.5 56.2 56.7 57.7 54.8 58.5 59.9 59.3 58.6 58.1 70.3 69.9 71.8 69.4 70.7 71.5 70.9 66.7 69.8 67.2 ( 10) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( i °) ( 10 ) ( 10 ) ( 10) ( 10 ) ( ! 0) 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20.6 19.1 13.7 66.5 20.3 18.3 13.2 62.5 18.9 17.3 13.5 72.1 18.0 17.7 13.1 64.1 19.8 18.3 12.9 67.9 18.7 18.4 12.8 62.5 16.9 16.3 12.8 61.7 20.3 18.5 13.6 57.9 13.2 17.5 56.1 11.6 17.0 45.3 12.3 16.8 54.4 10.6 16.8 50.4 11.1 17.2 55.0 10.9 16.1 46.5 12.3 17.6 60.2 21.2 6.6 9.8 16.1 7.2 93.5 19.0 6.4 11.0 17.6 7.6 90.0 21.4 7.1 10.7 17.1 8.0 84.8 19.3 6.5 11.7 17.1 7.7 78.6 22.1 6.5 10.7 17.0 7.5 76.8 17.8 6.8 11.2 17.1 8.1 88.5 22.5 5.7 9.6 15.7 6.5 87.3 848.0 ( 12 ) (4 ) 849.1 ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) 3 14.1 32.5 41.8 32.5 240.8 19.2 14.0 15.6 24.9 19.5 13.4 15.9 25.1 16.3 52.9 14.4 55.5 18.3 34.9 32.5 30.0 9.7 20.0 35.1 36.1 32.1 9.8 13.5 13.4 (4 ) 849.1 847.3 56.7 57.4 56.5 70.5 70.6 ( 10) ( 10) ( ! 0) ( 10) 00 00 00 00 00 19.3 18.4 13.5 53.3 18.1 17.3 14.0 52.7 18.6 17.8 13.1 60.5 16.6 16.0 13.7 60.0 19.0 18.2 13.2 53.9 12.3 17.8 52.0 11.2 17.6 52.7 11.4 217.0 52.0 212.7 16.9 57.9 13.4 17.4 58.8 12.7 17.7 58.5 (0 7.1 11.5 17.7 8.5 86.3 (0 65 ,. 11.0 15.2 8.1 80.7 (0 6.5 10.2 15.2 8.1 73.0 20.6 6.0 10.4 17.7 7.6 77.5 24.6 6.1 9.9 15.8 7.2 78.1 (0 6.4 10.6 16.8 7.6 78.5 ( 12 ) 13.5 (4 ) »62.2 ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) ( 12 ) (0 0 ) ( 13 ) 3 13.1 0 ) ( 13) 3 13.6 (0 33.3 41.6 32.2 43.1 20.2 3 14.3 16.6 23.0 18.7 15.5 17.5 23.7 20.4 13.1 14.1 23.5 17.7 13.3 16.7 23.1 17.2 13.5 15.2 22.9 15.6 54.7 14.3 55.7 15.2 55.3 14.8 55.9 16.3 56.3 14.1 56.1 19.2 36.2 34.3 27.5 10.0 17.9 35.8 43.2 29.4 9.8 19.1 34.5 33.3 36.0 10.2 17.3 36.0 34.8 31.6 9.8 18.4 36.3 35.4 33.6 10.1 17.7 31.9 34.6 29.5 9.5 30.8 43.3 32.6 33.4 (0 17.6 15.7 14.7 24.1 19.1 14.1 15.1 24.2 18.1 14.8 15.5 24.1 19.6 13.8 17.0 2 24.7 20.3 13.6 15.8 23.7 17.0 54.5 12.4 54.4 15.3 53.6 15.0 55.3 18.0 54.7 21.6 35.5 32.6 28.6 10,0 18.0 34.3 34.3 28.9 9.8 18.8 33.6 32.4 30.6 9.9 18.7 18.0 32.8 32.9 35.1 34.4 32.0 44.3 10.0 1 9,8 18.5 14.5 16.0 23.6 ( 12 ) 31.4 41.7 31.5 342.5 31.3 41.1 (0 (0 31.7 241.7 30.8 40.6 ( ! 3) ( 12 ) ( 13 ) 30.9 42.7 ( ! 3) 68.5 ( 13) ( 13) ( 13 ) (4 ) 844.4 ( 13) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) (4 ) 849.6 861.4 13.3 2 13.0 (4 ) ( i 3) ( 13) RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 14 T able 6.— Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949— Continued. WEST NORTH CENTRAL—Cont. Article St. Louis Cereals and bakery products: Cereals: C en ts 47.4 Flour, wheat____5 pounds.. Com flakes____ 11 ounces.. 16.5 Com meal _______ pound. 10.8 Rice _____________ do___ 16.3 Rolled oats_____ 20 ounces. _ 15.8 Bakery products: 13.4 Bread, white______ pound.. 50.2 Vanilla cookies______ do___ Meats, poultry, and fish: Meats: Beef: Round steak____ do . _ 83.7 Rib roast. ............do___ 64.3 Chuck roast_____ do___ 54.6 Hamburger_____ do___ 52.3 96.1 Veal: Cutlets.......... ..do___ Pork: Chops ________ do___ 69.9 67.5 Bacon, sliced.. ...d o ... Ham, whole_____ do___ 61.3 Salt pork. _ ....... .do___ 38.1 73.2 Lamb: Leg_________ do___ Poultry: Roasting chickens----- do___ 0 ) Frying chickens:5 New York dressed ®.do_ __ Dressed and drawn 7 _do___ 864.3 Fish:9 Salmon, pink. 16-ounce can_. 57.6 Dairy products: Butter_______________ pound.. 71.8 Cheese: (1 0 ) No. 1 mild Cheddar...do___ Processed American... do___ C11) Milk: 21.1 Fresh (delivered)___ quart.. 19.2 Fresh (grocery) ___ do___ 12.1 Evaporated _14^-ounee can.. Eggs: Fresh______________ dozen.. 61.5 Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits: 11.6 Apples..... ......... ......pound.. 17.6 Bananas_________ _ do___ Oranges, size 200___ dozen.. 53.0 Fresh vegetables: 22.2 Beans, green______ pound.. 6.8 Cabbage___________ do___ Carrots___________bunch.. 10.8 17.1 Lettuce____________ head.. Onions........... .......pound.. 7.5 Potatoes_______15 pounds.. 84.7 (1 2 ) Spinach__________ pound.. Sweetpotatoes______ do___ s 10.9 ( 13) Tomatoes__________ do___ Canned fruits. Peaches______ No. can.. 31.7 Pineapple.............. ...d o ----41.6 Canned vegetables: Corn .................N o. 2 can 19.1 14.6 Peas_______________do___ Tomatoes__________ do___ 14.9 Dried fruits: Prunes___pound.. 23.5 Dried vegetables: 15.2 Navy beans............ ..do___ Beverages: Coflee__________ do___ 55.0 Fats and oils: 17.0 Lard__________________ do___ Hydrogenated shortening.do___ 33.0 34.4 Salad dressing.................pint.. 29.7 Margarine....................pound.. 9.7 Sugar and sweets: Sugar......... do___ See footnotes at end of table. St. Paul C en ts 48.6 17.7 11.3 17.5 17.2 Wichi Atlan ta ta C en ts 45.7 18.4 11.5 17.2 17.0 EAST SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH ATLANTIC C en ts 51.1 18.2 6.7 17.8 16.6 Char Balti leston, more S. C. Jack son ville Nor folk Rich mond C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts 47.1 17.1 11.1 0) 16.6 50.7 21.3 10.2 15.1 17.4 48.0 16.4 10.0 18.2 16.1 48.5 17.6 (9 17.2 16.8 48.5 16.8 7.4 16.7 16.7 Wash Savan ington, Win stonnah D. C. Salem C en ts 48.2 18.5 7.7 9 18.2 17.0 C en ts 49.1 17.9 8.6 18.7 17.0 C en ts 50.3 17.2 7.9 18.7 17.6 Bir ming ham Jackson C en ts C en ts 47.8 18.3 6.1 17.1 15.8 52.0 19.7 6.8 20.1 17.2 13.1 52.7 13.3 56.0 13.8 43.4 14.1 0) 14.5 41.1 12.8 43.0 13.5 40.1 13.4 (9 13.6 41.9 13.2 43.0 14.2 38.7 13.6 41.2 14.2 44.7 78.2 67.2 56.8 50.6 88.4 82.1 (9 54.3 47.2 84.3 89.7 67.1 66.5 54.4 53.6 56.4 48.3 92.3 9 111.9 83.5 73.0 56.9 50.6 398.9 87.5 71.9 58.4 46.2 95.8 87.3 69.0 51.0 50.7 104.1 85.0 68.6 50.6 49.2 103.9 *83.2 *71.4 0) 49.0 *91.1 85.1 66.3 51.8 51.6 103.1 85.3 65.6 56.2 51.1 91.4 83.9 67.4 54.5 49.3 82.8 87.5 71.7 55.1 49.2 91.8 70.1 67.5 61.8 39.6 73.9 67.7 66.2 59.2 38.6 83.0 66.9 66.9 3 63.9 34.8 (9 69.2 69.0 63.3 35.1 79.2 69.1 62.0 64.5 33.8 *71.4 72.3 67.9 64.9 33.8 73.6 66.3 66.8 59.0 34.0 *79.0 73.2 65.7 66.1 69.7 64.2 65.0 35.5 . 31.8 79.0 72.8 63.3 63.9 60.7 34.3 71.7 69.2 69.0 65.6 39.3 0) (9 (9 0) (9 (9 851.1 C1) 67.5 66.9 62.3 35.2 383.0 (9 74.8 68.9 64.1 33.6 74.1 (9 (9 846.4 0) 0) 0) 843.3 (9 843.8 (9 859.1 856.5 857.5 857.6 * 56.4 *59.2 57.9 58.2 55.2 56.2 55.4 54.7 54.5 57.1 55.6 58.4 56.2 55.2 60.1 70.4 72.2 78.0 75.3 75.8 73.7 75.9 75.4 73.1 75.3 78.6 75.9 75.5 (9 856.0 «59.1 (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) (1 0 ) 09 09 C11) 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 0°) 09 17.1 14.8 13.7 59.4 20.1 19.0 13.2 56.3 22.0 22.5 12.9 65.4 20.7 20.7 13.1 70.5 23.1 23.1 13.1 65.7 25.2 25. 2 12.4 67.7 24.1 24.2 12.8 69.0 21.8 22.5 12.9 70.2 24.3 24.2 12.7 65.8 20.8 19.8 13.8 72.0 22.6 23.1 13.5 65.7 23.4 22.8 12.5 63.5 13.3 65.7 13.7 18.1 57.5 14.1 16.8 64.2 13.2 14.8 40.4 12.4 17.0 45.3 113. 6 14.7 40.0 14.6 12.3 0) 15.4 41.7 *12.8 * 16.5 44.4 14.0 14.3 34.6 13.4 17.5 48.2 11.5 15.1 41.3 14.3 14.7 39.0 16.6 13.9 46.2 »23.4 6.4 10.0 16.8 7.6 83.8 (9 7.2 11.0 19.3 8.3 92.2 16.9 5.7 10.5 16.0 7.3 86.5 18.8 6.8 12.0 18.0 7.9 83.4 19.1 6.2 11.9 16.2 7.9 80.5 18.4 5.3 10.3 16.3 7.1 78.2 18.3 5.7 11.3 16.1 7.7 74.0 18.7 6.0 11.8 17.8 7.7 76.0 18.3 5.4 11.1 16.4 7.6 78.7 19.0 6.2 16.3 5.9 12.8 17.2 9.0 82.6 21.7 5.2 9.7 15.0 7. 2. 83.9 12.2 3 10.5 03 ) 12.4 * 10.3 09 9 10.5 ( 13 ) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) (9 ( 13) ( 12 ) 14.3 ( 13 ) ( ! 2) ( 13) (1 2 ) ( 12 ) (1 2 ) (1 2 ) 11.2 (1 2 ) (1 2 ) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) ( 13 ) 12.3 * 10.5 (9 12.0 1 2 .8 ( 13 ) 1 1 .2 19.0 7.2 78.3 (1 2 ) ( 13 ) ( 12 ) (i°) (1 0 ) 09 09 (1 2 ) 2 1 .2 2 1 .2 (9 6.8 10.5 15.3 8.3 107.2 (1 2 ) 9 10.4 32.9 45.2 32.5 345.0 32.4 336.5 31.3 38.0 33.1 0) 30.8 (9 31.2 0) 32.8 39.1 33.2 0) 31.7 *38.4 33.9 0) 31.7 0) 32.2 0) 18.7 13.5 17.6 22.2 20.0 16.1 17.3 23.9 21.5 13.4 13.3 24.6 18.3 3 15.0 15.1 23.6 20.0 3 14.7 14.1 324.5 21.3 14.5 13.4 24.4 17.8 15.3 13.3 *23.3 19.0 12.1 13.1 23.0 22.0 14.1 14.0 *25.1 19.8 14.8 14.1 22.0 20.5 18.2 15.6 23.1 21.3 14.5 14.5 21.9 23.3 * 13.8 16.3 *23.3 16.3 57.3 0 ) 55.8 15.0 53.7 16.8 57.2 17.5 60.7 3 15.8 56.8 14.9 50.1 15.4 56.9 *17.7 54.2 16.6 55.5 14.9 60.2 15.7 54.0 18.0 61. 6 18.5 32.3 35.1 35.0 10.3 16.4 35.0 37.2 33.0 10.0 18.4 35.2 34.8 30.2 9.1 19.0 35.8 34.5 31.1 9.5 19.9 35.4 35.9 30.5 9.2 18.9 34.7 33.6 30.4 8.5 19.7 33.8 33.0 32.0 9.6 18.9 35.6 34.9 30.7 9.7 19.5 36.0 33.2 29.2 8.7 19.4 35.8 36.5 34.4 9.6 20.8 35.9 35.6 34.2 9.5 17.8 31.5 33.9 30.3 9.3 19.6 34.0 39.4 30.9 9.6 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 15 T able 6.— Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949— Continued EAST SOUTH CENTRAL— Continued WEST SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAIN PACIFIC Article Knox Louis ville ville Cereals and bakery products: Cereals: C en ts Flour, wheat..5 lb.. 51.8 Corn flakes-.ll oz__ 17.7 6.2 Corn meal..pound.. Rice_____ ..do___ 20.9 Rolled oats._20oz.. 17.1 Bakery products: Bread, white pound.. 14.1 Vanilla cookies do___ 45.0 Meats, poultry, and fish: Meats: Beef: Round steak do_ _ 84.0 Rib roast do_ _ 65.9 Chuck roast do___ 56.1 Hamburger 51.8 do.... Veal: Cutlets.do___ 8 .8 8 Pork: Chops— do___ 64.8 Bacon, sliced do___ 66.2 Ham, whole do___ 62.9 Salt pork, do___ 35.9 Lamb: Leg...do___ 0) Poultry: Roasting chickens do___ 0 Frying chickens:5 New York dressed 5 do_ _ Dressed and drawn 7 _do___ *55.9 Fish:» Salmon, pink 16-ounce can.. *60.5 Dairy products: 74.2 Butter............ .pound.. Cheese: No. 1 mild Cheddar (1 ) 0 do_ _ Processed Ameri can.........do___ (0 Milk: Fresh, (delivered) 19.9 quart. . Fresh, (grocery) do___ 2 .1 0 Evaporated 14^-ounce can.. 13.8 Eggs: Fresh_______dozen__ 64.3 Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits: 1 .1 2 Apples____pound.. Bananas___ do___ 14.9 Oranges, size 200 dozen.. 41.0 Fresh vegetables: Beans, green 1 pound— 2 .6 5.8 Cabbage........do___ Carrots___ bunch__ 1 .6 1 Lettuce____ head— 14.8 Onions___ pound.. 8.6 Potatoes 15 pounds.. 87.0 2 Spinach___pound— (1 ) Sweetpotatoes do___ *11.1 ( 13) Tomatoes___ do___ Gee footnotes at end of table. C en ts 46.0 17.9 8.0 18.8 16.6 Mem phis Mo bile Dallas Hous ton Salt Little New Butte Denver Lake Rock Orleans City Los An geles Port land, Oreg. San Fran cisco Seattle C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts 52.7 19.0 7.2 17.0 16.7 47.8 17.2 9.1 18.4 16.6 46.2 16.3 9.5 19.9 15.9 C en ts 46.8 16.6 1 .2 0 19.0 16.0 C en ts 50.2 20.3 8.7 15.5 17.2 *49.3 * 17.5 *9.7 * 17.0 * 16.5 C en ts 47.7 18.1 12.9 20.4 19.3 C en ts 40.9 18.4 1 .2 0 18.2 16.7 C en ts 46.0 16.7 12.4 17.7 17.3 49.2 15.9 1 .8 0 20.3 16.8 49.0 17.1 0) 21.9 18.5 52.6 17.5 11.4 *22.2 17.8 49.6 16.7 * 11.6 21.9 17.6 1 .8 2 13.9 15.2 13.6 1 .6 2 13.5 * 13.8 13.6 13.3 14.3 14.4 14.1 15.5 14.6 33.1 46.8 37.3 42.2 47.8 37.9 *45.8 51.8 51.5 32.1 47.7 51.2 0 48.3 83.0 62.4 84.6 67.5 82.9 69.8 85.0 71.6 90.2 76.6 82.6 67.5 *89.4 * 73.8 78.6 64.2 75.7 63.7 79.6 68 .6 82.0 74.7 78.2 67.0 8 .1 8 86.2 54.1 57.3 55.0 57.0 * 59.5 54.8 *56.6 50.8 53.2 52.1 55.0 55.2 0 53.8 48.5 99.2 48.6 48.1 *87.9 53.3 94.5 54.3 50.1 83.9 * 52.9 *95.6 47.3 46.5 84.9 48.3 92.0 44.2 97.8 44.9 88.4 46.3 104.2 50.9 * 97.0 70.9 69.7 67.0 65.8 73.5 64.7 *70.7 67.2 69.5 70.7 82.4 72.7 81.9 75.3 65.9 67.2 63.1 67.0 64.9 66.3 *65.8 68.3 68.4 70.3 70.3 70.0 70.7 70.5 58.7 *31.6 78.2 62.2 36.4 0 62.2 37.6 *81.5 64.3 33.9 78.9 65.4 39.7 83.5 60.4 36.6 *83.9 *66.2 *36.7 *84.2 63.2 36.6 *69.7 58.4 34.6 71.5 61.3 35.9 73.3 64.6 39.5 71.2 62.6 38.0 74.5 67.3 42.0 73.5 65.3 42.5 72.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *54.3 861. 2 0 0 0 *58.7 *60.6 *58.2 *62.2 *59.9 *59.2 56.3 0 58.5 57.0 56.1 63.1 * 56.5 61.5 58.5 59.5 59.5 56.0 *57.7 * 55.1 72.4 74.0 72.7 76.4 75.5 72.8 *72.0 71.3 73.7 72.4 72.7 72.4 76.5 73.7 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (1 ) 0 (0 0) (0 (0 (0 (0 (0 (0 (0 (ii) (0 (0 (0 (0 2 .8 0 18.3 23.0 21.2 23.1 19.5 *22.5 19.0 19.9 18.6 23.1 20.4 21.5 19.5 *21.5 18.6 18.2 18.9 20.0 2 .0 0 19.8 18.2 2 .0 0 20.0 20.4 20.3 18.9 17.6 13.1 63.0 13.3 67.4 63.3 6 .6 8 13.0 13.0 67.7 12.5 63.6 *12.5 *64.4 13.7 72.1 1 .8 2 6 .0 8 6 .1 6 71.2 1 .6 2 12.4 66.3 13.6 71.6 70.3 * 16.6 1 .0 2 * 15.6 * 16.5 15.6 12.4 15.2 14.0 17.8 14.8 14.3 16.0 *14.9 * 11.8 12.5 19.3 14.2 17.8 13.3 17.1 13.8 18.0 13.2 19.3 *11.9 19.7 13.8 19.7 45.1 47.6 39.7 53.8 49.3 54.3 *38.8 58.3 65.4 52.5 47.8 54.7 51.4 61.4 18.9 6.9 323.1 5.7 19.8 20.5 5.8 8.9 15.6 2 .8 1 6.8 (0 8.6 0) 6.8 *9.7 *13.3 0 6.3 8.2 15.8 6.6 23.4 18.5 7.9 *19.5 *5.5 *9.1 *14.4 *6.4 0) 9.2 16.6 7.9 2 .0 2 6.3 1 .1 0 95.9 107.2 90.8 *86.4 71.0 0 1 .8 1 0 1 .6 2 6.0 16.3 8.3 1 .6 0 16.5 8.3 9.2 15.1 7.1 79.4 (1 ) 2 92.4 (!3) 97.1 (1 ) 2 13.0 212.8 ( 13) ( 13) 1 .0 1 ( 13) (0 * 11.5 (0 8 .1 8 (0 1 .8 2 (0 0 (0 0) (0 1 (0 0) ( 13) 86.8 0) 8.1 (0 0) (0 72.3 73.3 0 77.0 (0 *13.3 ( 13) 12.5 6.3 7.9 14.2 6.3 72.2 (0 0) (0 6.0 8.1 *22.7 7.1 1 .8 2 0 7.9 9.9 16.2 7.3 11.9 6.4 6.7 9.0 14.9 7.1 81.2 (1 ) 2 78.4 (1 ) 2 (1 ) 2 ( 12) 0) 0 (0 ( 13) * 16.0 ( 13) ( 18) 8.6 11.4 7.4 88.6 80.5 (0 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD, 1949 16 T able 6. — Annual average retail prices of principal foods, by city, 1949— Continued EAST SOUTH CENTRAL— Continued WEST SOUTH CENTRAL Article Knox Louis ville ville Fruits and vegetables—Con. Canned fruits: Peaches C en ts No. can__ 34.1 Pineapple___do___ 0) Canned vegetables: Corn___No. 2 can.. 23.0 Peas________do___ 215.7 Tomatoes___ do___ 15.5 Dried fruits: Prunes pound.. 324.1 Dried vegetables: 15.2 Navy beans, .do___ Beverages: Coffee___do___ 53.6 Fats and oils: Lard._ _ ______ do __ 19.7 Hydrogenated shorten 36.2 ing___________do___ Salad dressing___pint.. 34.7 Margarine____ pound. _ 33.3 Sugar and sweets: Sugar__________d o___ 10.0 C en ts 30.9 0) PACIFIC Mem phis Mo bile Dallas Hous ton Salt Little New Butte Denver Lake Rock Orleans City Los An geles Port land, Oreg. San Fran Seattle cisco C en ts C en ts C en ts C en ts C e n ts C e n ts C e n ts C en ts 29.7 0) (0 28.5 31.0 40.5 30.0 0) 20.7 315.0 16.5 20.9 17.1 14.1 219.7 16.4 13.7 21.2 0) 15.0 30.8 0) 17.9 13.7 14.7 19.9 15.2 14.2 23.2 (0 20.4 323.6 21.7 23.9 13.5 56.5 C) 1 15.6 58.8 17.8 56.3 17.2 56.2 16.4 52.3 55.4 C e n ts 331.0 0) 320. 8 . 315.7 315.4 C en ts 32.9 0) C e n ts 31.5 0) 21.9 17.7 16.9 18.6 14.7 16.9 323.5 22.3 315.2 354.4 317.4 59.0 C e n ts 30.6 339.8 26.2 0) 30.6 (0 29.0 C en ts 0) 31.1 (0 17.0 14.2 1 18. 6 4 20.3 14.2 1419.5 20.4 15.8 1 21. 7 4 20.7 14.8 1419.8 11*23.0 4 * 8 19.1 16.2 0) 22.1 20.8 21.7 20.4 21.1 16.0 58.3 15.5 58.8 18.0 58.0 18.1 57.3 17.9 58.3 18.5 57.7 18.9 19.3 18.2 321.3 20.3 20.9 318.0 21.9 18.8 19.9 21.0 21.4 24.4 22.0 35.4 32.6 32.8 0) 39.4 30.2 32.0 38.6 30.5 32.4 33.0 29.1 34.1 31.9 30.9 31.3 35.8 29.6 333.6 335.2 328.3 38.6 37.3 30.6 34.8 35.6 31.9 34.9 33.8 34.5 33.8 35.6 30.2 36.0 36.0 31.5 37.0 37.3 32.2 35.7 34.8 32.2 9.8 9.5 9.3 9.4 9.2 9.5 39.1 11.0 10.0 10.4 9.4 9.9 9.6 10.0 1Not available; insufficient number of reports secured during year. 3 Average based on reports for 10 months. * Average based on reports for 11 months. 4 Not priced after March. » First priced in April. * Average for 29 cities. * Average for 27 cities. 8 Average for 9 months. MOUNTAIN 9 Costs of fresh and/or frozen fish are included in the index, but average prices are not computed. 1 Not priced after June. 0 1 First priced in July. 1 1 Not priced after September. 2 1 First priced in October. 3 1 Price per No. 2}^ can. 4 Appendix Brief Description of Retail Food Price Index The Retail Food Price Index, a component of the Consumers, Price Index, measures average changes in retail prices of a fixed list of foods of constant quantity and quality, bought by mod erate-income families in large cities. This is in line with the general purpose of the Consumers’ Price Index of measuring how much more or less it costs at one time than at another to purchase a fixed list of goods.1 The index is not designed to measure how much more it costs to live in one city than in another.1 2 Retail food prices were first collected in 1903, when the Bureau’s representatives obtained prices for the years 1890 through 1903 from grocers’ records. At that time, 30 foods were priced in 171 representative cities in 33 States. Since then changes in the lists of foods and in the number of cities have been made, with the number of foods varying between 16 and 87 and the number of cities between 39 and 171. The base period, col lection and computation methods, and techniques have also changed from time to time. Currently the Bureau publishes retail prices of 50 foods in 56 cities. Each month about 80,000 quotations are collected from 1,650 independent stores and 150 chain organizations representing 6,500 chain stores, or a total of about 8,150 stores. Store Sample Selection In selecting the sample of stores for food price reports, the Bureau has taken into account type of store in terms of foods handled, size of store as 1A detailed discussion of the Consumers’ Price Index is presented in the bulletin, Consumers’ Prices in the United States, 1942-48 (Bull. 966). The index as it was computed through 1941 is described in Changes in Cost of Living in Large Cities in the United States 1913-41 (Bull. 699). 2 A special study of differences in costs between cities is presented in The City Worker’s Family Budget in the Monthly Labor Review, February 1948 (also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1909). measured by sales volume, and geographic loca tion within the city. Revisions in store samples are made from time to time, to maintain the accuracy of the Bureau’s food price index. The latest complete sample revision took place between September 1945 and June 1946.3 Less comprehensive changes have been made in the store samples since that date. Collection of Prices The Bureau collects retail prices of 50 foods in each of the 56 large cities included in its Retail Food Price Index, during the first 3 days of the week containing the fifteenth of the month. Local Bureau representatives collect retail food prices from grocers who report voluntarily. The repre sentatives are provided with a description (speci fication) of the quality for which price quotations are desired. Within the range of each specifica tion, they are instructed to secure a price for the type, brand, etc., that is sold in greatest volume in each store. Specifications are defined precisely enough to insure a meaningful average price and avoid movement in the index because of shifts in the quality priced from one period to the next. They are also broad enough, within limitations, to provide an adequate number of quotations and to allow for city and regional differences in grades, types, package sizes, etc. Prices are obtained for items found to be most important in wage earners’ family budgets as shown by a comprehensive study in 1934-36. The selection of the index items also takes into account similarity of price changes, since it is impossible for the Bureau to collect prices for all of the many foods purchased by families. Price 3 See Store Samples for Retail Food Prices in Monthly Labor Review for January 1947; also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1878. 17 18 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 1949 movements of foods not included in the monthly surveys are imputed to those of other foods or food groups showing similar price trends, by means of allocation of weights. Processing Each month, the Bureau’s field representatives return their pricing schedules to the Washington office, where they are edited carefully for conform ance to the required specifications. Conversions to uniform quantity unit are made as necessary, and weighting factors are entered in preparation for machine tabulation. The data are then processed by machine tabulation. The Retail Food Price Index is a fixed-baseweighted-aggregate index. Weighting factors are used to maintain appropriate relationships, (1) among chain stores (outlet weights), (2) between chain and independent stores (chain-independent ratio), (3) among foods in each city (consumption weights), and (4) among cities (population weights). Average prices for each food in each city are computed separately for chain and independent stores. Weighting factors (called outlet weights), based on annual volume sales of retail reporters, are used in calculating average prices for chain stores within each city. A simple average of independent store prices is obtained, since the sample was selected to be a self-weighting sample. Chain and independent average prices for a city are combined by use of chain-independent ratios to obtain average prices for the city. This chainindependent ratio is based on the percentage of total food sales in a city made by chains and by independent stores. Consumption weights (called quantity weight ing factors) for each city are applied to the indi vidual food prices to give them their correct pro portions in the city’s group and all-foods indexes. These weights are based on consumer expenditure data obtained in 1934-36. The resulting weighted aggregates are combined to obtain indexes for the major food groups and for all foods combined. City population weights are employed in obtain ing average prices and indexes for 56 cities com bined. These weights are based on the population of the metropolitan area containing the city in which prices are collected and that of cities in the same region and size class. Adjustments in these population weights were made in February 1943 in accordance with Census Bureau estimates of changes in population from April 1940 to May 1942, based on the registrations for the sugarration book. Table A shows the population weights now in use. Relative Importance The relative-importance4 of the individual foods in the over-all index is computed and released by the Bureau once each year. These relative-importance figures are percentage distributions of the values of the individual foods in the index as of a certain date. The values are obtained by multiplying the quantity consumption weights by the average prices for the specified date. Thus, the relative-importance figures are not weights in themselves. They change from time to time as prices for the various foods change at different rates, since the consumption weights used in their computation remain constant. Table B presents a tabulation of foods priced, individually and by groups, and relative impor tance (percentage) of each in the all-foods index for 56 large cities combined, for the base period (1935-39), December 1948 and December 1949. Revisions In order to maintain the accuracy of the index, special tests and surveys from which revisions may develop, are made from time to time. Some of the more important recent revisions are de scribed below. Adjustments to wartime and then to postwar conditions were made in March 1943 and Feb ruary 1946. In March 1943,5 quantity weights of 27 foods were reduced in line with anticipated 1943 supplies available to consumers under rationing regulations, and weights of 26 less scarce commodities were increased. At the* <See Consumers’ Price Index: Relative Importance of Components, in the Monthly Labor Review for August 1948; also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1933. * See Bureau of Labor Statistics Cost-of-Living Index in Wartime, in the Monthly Labor Review for July 1943; also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1545. RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 1949 same time 7 foods were added to the index. The chain-independent store ratio was revised on the basis of latest available estimates of changes in volume of food sold through chains and inde pendent stores. Five cities were added to the index, increasing the total number from 51 to 56. The population weights were changed to take into account the marked shifts in population during wartime. In February 1946,® the Retail Food Price Index was again revised to eliminate the special wartime adjustments. Prewar consumption weights were restored, with minor adjustments, to retain the 7 items added to the index in 1943, and outlet weights within cities were changed, using the latest sales volume data available. The computation of average prices for chain and independent stores, separately, was initiated at this time. Formerly the ratio between the two types of stores was used in computing city averages but the computation procedure did not maintain the fixed ratio when the number of quotations varied from period to period. The revised procedure was an improvement in that the stability of the aver ages would be affected less by short supplies, since the chain-indepen dent ratio would remain fixed, even though some reporters were unable to furnish price quotations every collection date because of food shortages. During this revision some changes in editing were also introduced. The sample of stores was considered large enough that minor changes in the sample of stores or shifts from one brand to another within specification did not require adjust ment for comparability in computing indexes. Index numbers for individual items which were begun at this time are used in obtaining per centage changes, rather than prices, since major differences in the sample and in specifications are still taken care of in the index by linking. After February 1946, sales taxes were no longer included in the published average prices, but were incorporated in the index for each city. Average prices in cities having sales taxes were reduced by the amount of tax formerly included. ®See Store Samples for Retail Food Prices, in the Monthly Labor Review for January 1947; also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1878. 19 The last major revision took place in August 1947,7 when the list of foods included in the index was reduced from 62 to 50, a new subgroup for meats (excluding poultry and fish) was added, and the number of quotations from independent stores for dry groceries and staples was reduced. This reduction did not materially affect the accuracy of the average prices because of the small amount of price variation from store to store for these foods. As procedures change and revisions are made, indexes are linked (made equal in a given month) so that changes arising from the mechanics of revisions do not alter the level of the index and it continues to reflect price movements only. In 1949, the Bureau of Labor Statistics began a 3-year revision of its Consumers’ Price Index. Under this program, the entire structure of the Retail Food Price Index will be subject to review. Expenditure surveys will be conducted to secure information for use in bringing the market basket of foods up to date. From these surveys, the Bureau expects to determine what kinds of foods are consumed currently and in what amounts. Special price studies have also been planned to determine the adequacy of the city coverage and of the store samples, as well as how many foods must be priced regularly to measure changes ac curately. As in the past, it will be impossible to include in the index prices of all foods purchased by families. Prices of more than 100 foods will be collected experimentally beginning early in 1950 in order to determine the similarities and differ ences in price movements among foods. Publications Retail food price data are issued regularly as follows : 1. Consumers’ Price Index and Retail Food Prices (monthly— mimeographed). 2. Retail Food Prices by cities (monthly— mimeographed). 3. Retail Food Prices by Cities— Annual Averages (annually— mimeographed). 4. Monthly Labor Review (monthly). 5. Retail Prices of Food (annually). 7 See Revision of Retail Food Price Index in August 1947, in the MonthlyLabor Review for October 1948; also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1941. RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD , 1949 20 T able A .— Population weights used in computing retail food prices and indexes for 56 cities combined Weight City 56 cities combined__________________ City P ercen t Atlanta, Ga_______________________ Baltimore, M d ____________________ Birmingham, Ala__________________ Boston, Mass______________ _______ Bridgeport, Conn__________________ Buffalo, N. Y ______________________ Butte, Mont _____________ _______ Cedar Rapids, Iowa________ _______ Charleston, S. C__________ ________ Chicago, 1 1 ___ _______ _________ 1 Cincinnati, Ohio_________ _________ Cleveland, Ohio___________________ Columbus, Ohio __________________ ___ ___ _ __________ Dallas, Tex Denver, Colo __ ___ ______ Detroit, Mich _ _ _ ___ ______ Fall River, Mass. _________________ Houston. Tex______________________ Weight 100.0 Indianapolis, Ind_________________ 1.3 1.8 1.7 4.9 .6 1.6 .1 .1 .4 8.1 1.8 3.6 1.3 1.8 .8 6.1 .4 2.1 Jacksonville, Fla____ ____________ Kansas City, Mo _______________ Knoxville, Tenn............... ................ Little Rock, Ark_________________ Los Angeles, Calif________________ Louisville, Ky __ _______________ Manchester, N. H ________________ Memphis, Tenn___ _____ ________ Milwaukee, Wis............................... Minneapolis, Minn___ __________ Mobile, Ala___________ ______ ___ Newark, N. J__ ____ ___________ New Haven, Conn____ __ ________ New Orleans, La____ _____ ______ New York, N. Y _________________ Norfolk, V a . ____________________ Omaha, Nebr____________________ P ercen t 1.2 .2 1.1 1.3 .3 .2 5.6 1.0 .1 .5 1.7 1.1 .3 1.6 2.1 1.1 11.8 .7 1.1 City Weight Peoria, 1 1 ....................................... 1 Philadelphia Pa Pittsburgh, Pa . __ ___ _ _ Portland, Maine _ Portland, Oreg___________________ Providence, R. I __________ _____ Richmond, Va...................... ............ Rochester, N. Y_ _______________ _ St. Louis, M o _________ . _ ______ St. Paul, Minn - _____________ Salt Lake City, Utah...................... San Francisco, Calif ___ _ _.............. Savannah, Ga................................... Scranton, Pa..... .......... ............. ...... Seattle, W ash___ ________ ______ Springfield, 111............................... Washington, D. C ___ __ ___ Wichita, Kans . __ _ _ Winston-Salem, N. C..... .................. P ercen t 0.4 7.2 4.2 .2 .7 .8 .8 2.3 2.5 .6 .3 3.1 .2 .9 1.3 .6 1.9 .3 .2 T a b l e B .— List of foods and relative importance of individual foods and groups of foods included in the Retail Food Price Index, in the base period (1935-89), December 1948, and December 19491 2 All foods _____ _________________ Cereals and bakery products--------------------Cereals: Flour, wheat- _________ ________ Macaroni_________ _____________ Cornflakes________ _________ Corn meal _ ___ _____ Rice ______________ ______ ___ Rolled oats____________________ Bakery products: Bread, white ______ __________ Bread, whole wheat. ___________ Bread, rye _ _ __ _ ________ ____ ______ Vanilla cookies ___ ___ _ Soda crackers _ Meats, poultry, and fish---- ------- ----------- -Meats ______________ -- Beef: Round steak_________________ _________ ____ _ Rib roast Chuck roast _____ _________ Hamburger______ ____________ Veal: Cutlets-------- ----------- ---------Pork: Chops_____________________ Bacon, sliced _ _ _________ Ham, whole_________________ Salt, pork Lamb: TP iP 1 Rib chops. _________________ Poultry: Roasting chickens __ Fish _______ _____ Fish (fresh, frozen) _ __________ Salmon, pin k __ __________ ____ Dairy products_________________________ Butter __ _ __________ ____ Cheese _ ___ ________ ___ ____ Milk, fresh (delivered)_______________ Milk, fresh (grocery) _________ Milk e a o te v p ra d _ ___ Eggs, fresh_____________________________ 1Not priced. 2 Not included in index. 1935-39 average Decem ber 1948 Decem ber 1949 P ercent Food P ercent P ercent 100.0 100.0 15.6 13.9 1.8 1.0 1.4 .3 (2 ) G) 2.1 0) .5 .4 .3 .7 6.7 .8 1.2 1.8 .6 0) 0) 100.0 14.4 2.3 G) 8.1 .5 .3 .3 .7 8.5 G) G) 28.2 22.4 1.8 0) 32.8 26.1 1.8 3.8 4.6 1.7 G) 4.7 4.3 2.0 1.9 4.8 4.3 1.9 1.8 G) 31.7 25.4 1.9 2.2 2.3 3.5 1. 9 2.2 .3 3.4 2.0 2.3 .4 3.2 1. 7 2.1 .3 1.2 1.3 3.3 2.5 1.7 .8 2.9 (i) 3.2 3.5 2.2 1.3 3.0 19.1 5.4 1.6 311.1 (3 ) 1.0 5.5 18.8 5.6 1.8 6.1 4.2 1.1 5.8 G) 2.9 3.4 2.3 1.1 18.2 5.6 1.8 5.9 4.0 .9 4.9 1935-39 average Food Fruits and vegetables._ ..... .............. Fresh fruits and vegetables Fresh fruits: Apples______________________ Bananas____ ____ ___________ Oranges- ... ___ _________ Fresh vegetables: Beans, green____________ _____ Cabbage_______ ______ _____ _ Carrots...................................... . Lettuce........... ............... ............ Onions_______________ ______ Potatoes___________ ______ Spinach.. ______ _______ ___ Sweetpotatoes ........................ _ ___ ____ _____ Tomatoes_ Canned fruits and vegetables. ________ Canned fruits: Peaches___ __________ _____ Pineapple _ _. _________ _ Canned vegetables: Corn ____________ ______ ___ Peas......................................... . Tomatoes___ ________________ Dried fruits and vegetables. .......... ....... Dried fruits: Prunes. _________________ . Dried vegetables: Navy beans__________________ Decem ber 1948 Decem ber 1949 P ercen t P ercen t P ercen t 21.6 16.5 19.6 15.2 20.9 16.6 2.1 1.4 3.4 2.4 1.8 2.3 1.8 1.9 2.3 .8 .7 .9 1.7 1.1 3.2 .8 .4 G) 4.1 .7 .5 .9 1.4 .8 3.2 .7 .5 G) 3.2 1.0 .6 1.0 1.3 1.2 3.0 .6 .4 .5 .4 .4 .4 .7 .9 1.5 1.0 .6 .4 1.3 1.2 .6 .4 1.2 1.3 G ) .5 2.0 3.0 .6 .7 .8 .4 .5 .5 Beverages.......................................... ........... Coffee...____ _______________ ______ Tea.............. ....................... _ _ . 3.4 2.6 .8 3.0 3.0 G) Fats and oils___ _______________ _______ Lard_____ ____ ____________ ________ Other shortening. _. _________ _____ Hydrogenated shortening_____________ Mayonnaise..................................... ....... Salad dressing. _____ _______________ Margarine______ ____ ______________ Peanut butter______________________ 3.2 1.1 .7 G) .9 G) .3 .2 3.2 1.0 (l) .6 G) .9 .7 Sugar and sweets_______ ______ _________ Sugar................................................. . 3.4 3.4 2.9 2.9 G ) 3 Not given separately for delivered and grocery milk. U. S . GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEi 1951 4.4 4.4 G) 2.4 .7 G) G) G ) .4 .8 .5 3.1 3.1
