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The long, hot summer of 1988 portends problems for local food processors, but the heat has been a boon for Hygrade Food Products Corp. in Southfield.
Sales of Hygrade's main product, frankfurters, have soared as people have packed this traditional picnic fare to escape to parks and beaches, said Carl Gylfe, vice president of marketing.
Yet, Gylfe and officials at other local food processors are concerned that the Great Drought of '88 could cause raw material shortages down the road.
Tight raw material supplies would likely force processors to pay more for the food they purchase -- increases some processors fear they might not be able to pass along to consumers.
The result for Kowalski Sausage Co., a Hamtramck institution since 1920, might be smaller profit margins in 1988, President Ronald Kowalski said.
"We're in a very competitive market and I'm not sure our customers would stand for a rise in price," said Kowalski, whose company makes fresh sausage, hams, processed meat and bacon.
Privately held Kowalski Sausage posted sales in 1987 of about $20 million, ranking 15th on Crain's 1988 list of the leading Detroit-area food processors.
The full impact of the drought on local food processors won't be known until later this year because many crops have yet to be harvested, said executives at...