Two House members want Justice Department antitrust lawyers to investigate why Raisin Bran sells at $4.49 a box, Shredded Wheat at $4.19 and Cap'n Crunch at $4.09 a pop.

Reps. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sam Gejdenson, D-Conn., complained Tuesday that the four industry giants who corner the market keep cold cereal prices artificially high.The industry disagrees, wondering how anyone could complain about a wholesome food that costs 25 cents to 30 cents a day. And that's with milk.

"Consumers are getting gouged at checkout counters all over the country," Schumer said at a news conference. "Why? Because the industry is immune from competition."

Generic brands are much cheaper, Schumer said, although it's often difficult to locate them on the store shelves.

The two lawmakers asked the Justice Department to undertake an antitrust investigation to see if major cerealmakers were conspiring to keep prices high.

Kellogg's, General Mills, Post and Quaker Oats control 85 percent of cereal sales and take too much profit, they said. They said 55 percent of the price of cereal goes to advertising and profits.

While the lawmakers point critically to the overall prices of boxes of cereal, the Grocery Manufacturers of America emphasized the price another way.

"Cereal prices in real terms have risen less than the rate of inflation - between 1 and 2 percent annually. Consumers are actually paying less for many of the top brands," the organization said.

The industry also said the Federal Trade Commission spent 10 years looking at competition in the cereal industry and in 1982 found no evidence of anti-competitive practices.

In fact, the Grocery Manufacturers said, the market "is so competitive that more than 60 new cereals have been introduced in the past five years."

Gina Talamona, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Attorney General Janet Reno was willing to consider any information submitted by the lawmakers.

General Mills said in a statement that the company hasn't increased the price of a single cereal in more than two years and has lowered the cost of nearly half its cereal line.

Joe Rutledge, spokesman for General Mills, said that since December 1993, the company has lowered the price it charges retailers for many popular cereals by 30 cents to 50 cents a box. The reductions applied to Cheerios, Total, Wheaties, Trix and Lucky Charms, he said.

"General Mills cereals are a terrific value," the statement said.

Schumer and Gejdenson contended that cereal prices have jumped by 90 percent since 1983, while other food prices have increased 45 percent.

They offered this breakdown for a 20-ounce box of Kellogg's Raisin Bran: retail price, $4.49; store share 90 cents; manufacturer's cost $1.63; profit, advertising and marketing, $1.96. The other cereals showed about the same cost breakdown.

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"Cereal prices are higher for three reasons: little to no price competition between the major companies; massive marketing campaigns and weak generic brands," the lawmakers said in a report, "Consumers in a Box."

And while consumers can clip cereal coupons from the Sunday newspaper, the two lawmakers said 30 million households do not get a Sunday paper.

The report contended that consumers would have saved $1.7 billion in 1994 if the inflation rate for cereal was the same as that of the average food between 1983 and 1994, an average savings of 80 cents a box.

It also said that as a percentage of total sales, the cost of labor and all materials have gone down since 1982.

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