PRICE OF SUGAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 115, 14 May 1920, Page 7

PRICE OF SUGAR.

THCREASE PREDICTED,

INFORMATION RATHER VAGUE.

For aome time it has been the opinion of merchant* and grocers in Auckland that a rise in t_e price of sugar m inevitable, but none were sure how it would come and bow much it would 'be.■ Now tha* they have heard that the Government has accepted tip. offer of. the Colonial Sugar Company and pur-! chased the Fiji crop, *__ grocers appear I to have lititle better idea of the coming price, .for this morning several of the | gentlemen who are interested in the price of sugar were very cautious when asked what they thought the new price would be. One informant pointed out that the present agreement between the Company and the Government did not expire until the end of June, and therefore no rise would 'happen before then. He wa« also at pains to explain .that the rationing Jsystem had been in vogue for many '.month's now, so that hoarding by the public or by the grocer wa. apparently out of the question. Sugar was still being doled out a pound or two at a time, and there wae no chance of anybody getting any considerable quantity. Another gentleman was not prepared to nay what he thought might be a future price of this article w<hen retailed to- the public, but 'he hazarded the opii.ion .hat it would he something less than sixpence a pound, possibly less than flvepence. j Australia wae paying £30 a ton for sugar in bulk, and hi» opinion wa* that when the Government owned the raw material, and hair it refined under agreement by the company, just as Australia wae doing at ~ preen t, the price would possibly be something near £,30. probably a little less. But added, to this would be the cost of handling wTien the supply wee subdiv ded into small lots "Of course householders may complain,", he added, "but I don't see hpw anything can be done. The price will certainly rise, posovbly early in July after the present contract ceases. More than that I cannot say, for the Government does not take us into its confidence."