April 5, 1943

CHANGES IN MEAT PRICES

Maximum Price Now by Regional Zone

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Office of Price Administration (OPA) announced today an end to the current meat-pricing policy that allows each store to charge its highest price of March 1942. Under the new plan, prices are set by zone, with twelve zones across the nation, and will provide “…readily identifiable ceilings to shoppers in each city, town, or hamlet.” The new policy, which goes into effect April 15, sets specific cents-per-pound prices for one hundred and two cuts of beef, veal, lamb, and mutton. On April 1, cuts of pork became similarly controlled. The new policy is intended to stabilize retail meat distribution, which has suffered from shortages, differing rules from retailer to retailer, and black market activity. The OPA says prices will be “…in most cases less than the prices which consumers have been paying recently.”