SOARING PRICES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, Issue LIV, 16 October 1920, Page 10

SOARING PRICES

POSIT]ON IX EXGLAX|> Writing under date August a. London correspondent states : The price of.the cjnartoru loaf is to ho*increased by 3d next month, and the’-whole of the-subsidy is to be' removed before the end'of the financial year. Should the price of wheat remain at its present level the State will continue for seven months to contribute somothiifg to keep down the.price of the loaf, but the present drain on the Exchequer has apparently been regarded as too heavy, and,the public must therefore be prepared to pay Is 3|d or Is 4d for 4.l'a of bread very shortly. Unless,the outlook improres tho quartern Joaf may cost Is 6d next spring, or three times the average price obtaining in 1914. The wealthy classes are small bread-eaters, and under i. subsidy they have con trihtiUhl to the baker’s bill of the artisan. “With the •high wages let them pay tor their own bread,” is tho view taKen in some quarters, and the policy of the* Government will give effect to that view. Government butter is to be raised from 2s 8d to 3s per lb. For fresh farm butter the price nas already advanced to 3s 9d per ib,, and when the .price of milk goes up British 'butter, will probably cost 4s 6d to 5s per lb. Germans, French, and even Americans, are now competing with Groat Britain for the available' Banish butter, and are offering a higher price than this cqimtry has recently, been paying. Irish bacon is now being retailed at 3s <ki per ib, and prime cuts of English bacon are. fetching as riiueh as 4s t'u per 18. . • English Cheshire cheese is being sold at 2s a lb., and Stilton at 2s 6d, 'bu: these prices may very soon be atlvan- 1 ced

With regard to eggs the outlook for the winter is not liupofnl, Since who prohibition of the sale or alcoholic drink's in America there has been an increase in the demand for ice-cream, and the egg is an ingredient in some varieties of"ices. This could hardly account by itself for the call for so many more eggs, but whatever the /reason American buyers are now said to be searching the world's markets to augment the Horae supplies.' Egyptian eggs last winter were the cheapest available, and on account of their larger yoke in comparison with other eggs they were regarded as good y,alue. ’Eggs at a reasonable price from Egypt would provide a chock on the' price of the home-produced egg. which even n't present is being «oid at the rate of 5s fid a dozen. , The sugar ration has been increased from Boz to 12oz per head per week, and the public are now enabled to obtain '‘free” sugar for domestic-preserv-ing purposes if they like to pay from Is to Is 7|d per lb for it. Retail prices for rationed sugar stand fit from Is 2d to Is 2fd per 'lb.