TABLE C.-MAXIMUM PRICES FOR RETAILER-OWNED COOPERATIVE SALES AND SALES RY WHOLESALLES OTHER 14. Footnote 35 is added at the end of Table B in section 20 to read as follows: Notwithstanding the heading of Table B, these prices are the maximum prices at which a person who imports or any agent of a foreign consignor may sell to other wholesalers regardless of whether he bought the fish from a producer or a foreign wholesaler. 15. In section 20, Table C is amended by deleting Schedule No. 58 and amending Schedules Nos. 51 to 57, inclusive, and Schedules Nos. 59 and 60 to read as follows: 16. Footnote 36 is added at the end of Table C in section 20 to read as follows: Notwithstanding the heading of Table C. these prices do not apply to sales by an importer or any agent of a foreign consignor regardless of whether he bought the fish from a producer or a foreign wholesaler. 17. In section 20, Table D is amended by deleting Schedule No. 58 and amending Schedules Nos. 51 to 57 inclusive and Schedules Nos. 59 and 60 to read as follows: 18. In section 20, Table E is amended by deleting Schedule No. 58 and amending Schedules Nos. 51 to 57 inclusive and Schedules Nos. 59 and 60 to read as follows: FRESH HALIBUT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS MADE IN AMENDMENT 29 TO MPR-418 Pricing action taken on fresh dressed halibut will reduce the retail price of this fish to consumers in eastern States and will assure for the first time in almost a year adequate supplies of fresh halibut for consumers living west of the Rocky Mountains, the OPA announced March 31. This action, effective April 6, 1944, accomplishes these purposes by reducing the price of fresh dressed halibut landed in Canadian ports by 2 cents per pound below the Seattle price. The higher price in Seattle will reflect to producers of halibut the additional cost entailed in bringing the fish to Seattle from fishing grounds off the Alaskan and British Columbian coasts. The differentials now established should again encourage more landings of this fish at Seattle. Reductions are made in the price of halibut landed in Alaska, based on the Canadian reduction of 2 cents per pound. Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is the major port of entry closest to the halibut fishing areas, and the differential established is between prices at this port and prices at Seattle. Thus, all halibut landed in Alaska will now take the Prince Rupert price minus transportation to Prince Rupert. This means that halibut landed at Ketchikan will now be priced at 3 cents below the Seattle price; Wrangell and Petersburg prices will now be 3-3/4 cents below Seattle prices; Juneau, Sitka, and Pelican City prices will be 4 cents below Seattle prices, and the price at Port Williams will be 4 cents below the Seattle price. When halibut is landed at any other Alaskan port the reduction in price will be comparable to that of the nearest port now listed. The differential in price among Seattle and Canadian and Alaskan ports existed generally in 1942, and its establishment now reduced the price of halibut coming through Canadian ports to the 1942 average prices. To make sure that the consumer will receive the full benefit of the reduction, OPA provided that the selling price for halibut at any place in the United States could not exceed the Prince Rupert price plus transportation, or the Seattle price plus transportation, whichever is lower. Under this arrangement, Seattle will be able to distribute halibut as far east as the Rocky Mountain States. Eastern consumers in such cities as Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, New York City, and Philadelphia will get the benefit of the lower Prince Rupert price. The Canadian Government allows halibut landed from American vessels to be transshipped to the U. S. in bond without payment of duty. The buying price for dealers buying for transshipment in bond are fixed accordingly. Sales of steaks processed from halibut landed on the Pacific Coast of Canada are now reduced 3 cents per pound. Round halibut is now priced 5 cents per pound below the dressed, while drawn halibut is priced at 3 cents per pound below the dressed. Two cents has been added to the price of fresh-dressed halibut caught and landed along East Coast ports. This eastern catch is about 1 percent of the total halibut catch, and is insignificant in itself. However, the 2 cents per pound increase will reflect the Prince Rupert price plus transportation from Prince Rupert. Since the selling price of this eastern seaboard catch in any inland city will be less than the selling price in the eastern port cities, no inland shipments of this catch are expected to be made. Inland cities will continue to get fresh-dressed halibut from Prince Rupert. The action on halibut was taken after extended conferences with the industry, the Canadian Government, and the Office of Coordinator of Fisheries. OPA also announced that frozen halibut prices will be synchronized with this arrangement on fresh prices and similar differentials will be established. Otherwise, it was pointed out, the advantage to the consumer will be lost since halibut will be diverted into freezers and sold at the frozen fish prices. The halibut is the largest flat fish caught in northern waters, and the Pacific fishing season for it begins on April 15. Frozen prices for this species of fish are expected to be fixed by that date. Amdt. 29 to MPR-418-Fresh Fish and Seafood-became effective April 6, 1944. Excerpts follow: Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 is amended in the following respects: 1. Section 7 (e) is added to read as follows: (e) Special rules affecting halibut. The table price, appropriate with respect to the type of sale, the style of dressing and the point of landing, plus the transportation allowance in this section shall not exceed whichever of the following three is lowest: (1) The appropriate table price for halibut which was landed on the Pacific Coast of Continental United States, plus the rail rate from Seattle to the seller's receiving point for the type of shipment used; (2) The appropriate table price for halibut which was landed on the Pacific Coast of Canada, plus the rail rate from Prince Rupert to the seller's receiving point for the type 2. Section 8 (c) is added to read as (c) Halibut. No person shall buy halibut landed on the Pacific Coast of Canada, which halibut is intended for transshipment in bond into the United States, at a price higher than the applicable table price as fixed by footnote 38 or 39. No producer shall sell any halibut on the Pacific Coast of Canada from a vessel of the United States, which halibut is intended for transshipment in bond to the United States, at a price higher than the applicable Table A price as fixed by footnote 38. 3. In section 20, Table A, the reference to footnote 3 is eliminated from the name of Schedule No. 23 and footnote 38 is added thereto. 4. Footnote 38 is added at the end of Table A in section 20 to read as follows: 38 When landed in the following Alaskan ports, deduct the following amounts: Ketchikan, 32 cents; Wrangell and Petersburg, 334 cents; Juneau, Sitka and Pelican City, 4 cents; Port Williams, 42 cents. When landed in any other port in Alaska, deduct the amount specified for the nearest port listed. Deduct 22 cents in American currency for sales of halibut landed on the Pacific Coast of Canada. For sales of dressed halibut landed on the Atlantic Coast of Continental United States add 2 cents. For sales of round halibut deduct 52 cents from the appropriate dressed price. For sales of drawn halibut deduct 3 cents from the appropriate dressed price. 5. In section 20, Table B, the reference to footnote 39 is added to the name of Schedule No. 23. 6. Footnote 39 is added at the end of Table B in section 20 to read as follows: 30 Deduct the following amounts for sales of steaks processed from halibut landed in the following Alaskan ports: Ketchikan, 42 cents; Wrangell and Petersburg, 5 cents; Juneau, Sitka and Pelican City, 54 cents; Port Williams, 6 cents; For sales of steaks processed from halibut landed in any other port in Alaska, deduct the amount specified for the nearest port listed. For sales of steaks processed from halibut landed on the Atlantic Coast of Continental United States, add 2 cents. For sales of steaks processed from halibut landed on the Pacific Coast of Canada, deduct 3 cents. AMENDMENT 1 TO MPR-507 EFFECTIVE APRIL 6 Retailers are now provided with a method for determining their maximum prices on steaks and cuts processed from certain species of fresh fish for which no cents-per-pound pricing method had previously existed, the OPA announced March 31. This action, which is effective April 6, 1944, was necessary because the wholesale fish regulation did not provide maximum prices for steaks and cuts of some species of fish which are not sold by wholesalers. For this reason, retailers who process to steaks and cuts prior to offering for sale found it impossible to ascertain the proper cost basis after processing shrink to be used in fixing their ceilings on such steaks and cuts. This condition existed primarily in the New York City, Boston, and San Francisco retail markets, where such processing of certain species prior to the sale of fish is established market practice. The effect of this pricing method for the consumer will be a more proper alignment of prices for steaks and cuts in relationship to the prices on the whole fish and fillets of certain species. For example: A retailer bought fresh haddock (which is a salt-water fish), and processed it into steaks and cuts before offering it for sale. Unable to find a price for these cuts and steaks in the wholesale fish regulation, he first finds the dressed price for haddock in the wholesale regulation. He then uses the multiplier of 1.40 given in the retail regulation for salt-water fish. This multiplier has been worked out by OPA and members of the retail fish industry on the basis of yields in processing salt-water fish to steaks and cuts. To this figure, the retailer then adds his transportation costs and container allowances as set forth in the wholesale fish regulation. Next he computes his ceiling price by adding to his net cost the cents-per-pound mark-up established for the haddock fillets, cuts and steaks for his store group in the retail regulation. Group 3 or 4 stores use the "fillet" column in the retail regulation to find their applicable mark-up. Retailers who process fresh-water fish prior to offering these items for sale into steaks and cuts in such cases are instructed by OPA to multiply the wholesale price for the round fish by 1.45. This multiplier is based upon the yield from fresh-water fish, which is substantially different from the yield which results when salt-water fish is so processed. Transportation and container allowances are then added. This pricing method will not be used when wholesale prices for cuts and steaks are established in the wholesale fish regulation. The action also provides or revises cents-per-pound mark-ups for bonito and for Canadian varieties of lake trout, pickerel, yellow pike, yellow perch, and whitefish. OPA also restricted the meaning of yellow perch to the Canadian variety, a qualification which was inadvertently omitted when the regulation was issued. Excerpts from Amdt. 1 follow: Maximum Price Regulation No. 507 is amended in the following respects: 1. Section 15 (a) (1) is amended to read as follows: SEC. 15. How you figure your ceiling price for items which you “process”—(a) Fresh fish-(1) "Net cost". If, prior to offering any item of fresh fish for sale, you "process" it by changing its form to either drawn, dressed, dressed and skinned, fillets, cuts or steaks (sliced), you will figure your "net cost" as though you had purchased the item already processed. Your "net cost" for any style of dressing is the price, fixed at the time If, prior to offering any item of fresh fish for sale, you "process" it by changing its form to cuts or steaks (sliced), and if Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 does not fix a price for that style of dressing, you will figure your "net cost" as follows: (i) For salt-water fish, find the price per pound fixed at the time you process it in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 in the table of prices covering your supplier's sales to you of that kind of fish bought dressed. (If the item which you process is one which you purchased from a producer under Table A of Maximum Price Regulation No. 418, use the dressed price, fixed at the time you process it, in Table B of Maximum Price Regulation No. 418.) Multiply that price by 1.40. (Add the transportation and container allowances permitted in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418.) The resulting figure will be your "net cost" per pound for the item. (ii) For fresh-water fish, find the price per pound fixed at the time you process it in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 in the table of prices covering your supplier's sales to you of that kind of fish bought round. Multiply that price by 1.45. (Add the transportation and container allowances permitted in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418.) The resulting figure will be your "net cost" per pound for the item. If you received deliveries from more than one type of supplier, use the table price in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 applicable to the type of supplier from whom you received the largest single delivery. NOTE: This paragraph (a) applies only to processing which changes the item to one of the following major styles of dressing: drawn, dressed, dressed and skinned, fillets, cuts or steaks. 2. In section 15 (a) (2), two new undesignated paragraphs are added to read as follows: Or, for example, if in the month of March you purchase haddock (a saltwater fish) round, drawn, or dressed, from a cash-and-carry wholesaler (Table D) under Maximum Price Regulation No. 418, and if, prior to offering the haddock However, if in the month of March Regulation No. 418, and if, prior to offering the pickerel for sale you change its form to steaks (sliced) your "net cost" under this regulation is the Table D price listed in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418 for round Canadian pickerel multiplied by 1.45 (plus transportation and container allowances permitted in Maximum Price Regulation No. 418). To figure your ceiling price, add to your "net cost" the per pound mark-up given your group of store for Canadian pickerel in the table covering fillets, cuts and steaks sold as purchased. 3. In section 26, I, items (18), (41), (42), (43), (44), and (45) in Table A are amended to read as follows: AMENDMENT 2 TO MPR-507 EXTENDS WINTER RETAIL MARK-UPS THROUGH APRIL The specified cents-per-pound mark-ups used by retailers to determine their ceiling prices on sales of fresh fish and seafood during the winter months of January, February, and March have been extended through April, the OPA announced March 31. This action, effective March 31, 1944, was taken because retailers will be selling some fish during the early part of April which they acquired at the more expensive "winter" whole prices. The cents-per-pound mark-ups to be used during April are those under Table A of Maximum Price Regulation No. 507. Amdt. 2 to MPR 507-Ceiling Prices of Certain Fresh Fish and Seafood Sold at Retail--became effective March 31, 1944. Excerpts follow: Maximum Price Regulation No. 507 is amended in the following respect: "Cents-per-pound mark-ups 1. In section 26, the heading of Table A is amended to read as follows: over 'net cost' allowed to retailers for fresh fish and seafood covered by this regulation, by species, for the months of January, February, March, and April." Frozen Fish Trade MARCH 1 FROZEN FISH STOCKS 29 PERCENT ABOVE YEAR PREVIOUS Domestic cold-storage holdings of fishery products declined during February and on March 1, had dropped to 68,191,000 pounds-20 percent below the stocks held on the first of the previous month, according to data published in Current Fishery Statistics No. 113 by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, March 1, holdings were 29 percent above those on March 1, 1943. The four leading items in freezers on March 1, were shrimp, salmon, whiting, and lake herring. Stocks of mild-cured salmon were approximately one-tenth those of the previous year dropping from 4,024,000 pounds on March 1, 1943, to 435,000 pounds on the same date this year. Since the date for reporting holdings of fishery products was changed from the 15th to the first of the month beginning January 1, 1943, data included in the "5-yr. average" consist of a combination of figures for the two periods. **Data not available. FREEZINGS OF FISHERY PRODUCTS DURING FEBRUARY 30 PERCENT GREATER THAN IN 1943 Freezings of fishery products during February, as reported by domestic freezers, totaled 8,836,000 pounds, a decrease of 2 percent under the production for January, but an increase of 30 percent when compared with February 1943, according to information published in Current Fishery Statistics No. 113 by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The four leading items frozen during the month were rosefish fillets, shrimp, smelt, and flounders. All important items, except rosefish, mackerel, and whiting, showed increases in the quantities frozen as compared with February 1943. 420,000 454,000 Since the date for reporting freezings of fishery products was changed from the 15th to the first of the month beginning January 1, 1943, data included in the "5-yr. average" consist of a combination of figures for the two periods. **Data not available. |