ONION TRADE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 84, 10 April 1937, Page 4

ONION TRADE.

MARKETING CONDITIONS. STATE POLICY EXPLAINED. - (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Friday. A statement covering the new regulations governing the sale of onions was made 'to-day by the Director-General of Agriculture, Mr. A. H. Cockayne. He said that although at present there was little movement on the onions market apart from day to day sales to meet current consumption, there was no need for growers to assume that this position was abnormal and that the market would remain in its present quiescent state. Every year at this time the complaint was heard that onions were unsaleable and the inception of the new regulations could not be held responsible for the present state of the market.

"There appears to be a definite misconception,"' said Mr. Cockayne, "particularly in the minds of Christchurch merchants who trade in onions, that the regulations limit their operations to a margin of 7% per cent profit. I wish to make it perfectly clear that where a merchant is selling on a commission basis on behalf of a grower he is limited to 7V& per cent commission, but where he purchases onions and thereby acquires ownership he is at perfect liberty to trade in these onions as hitherto, without any restriction as to profit. Clarification of this point should set at rest fears of growers that the so-called restrictions on the merchant's profit is hampering the sale of onions today."

ilr. Cockayne said that growers were breaking 'the lcgulations by consigning to outside markets ungraded oii->ns. It must be clearly understood that only graded onions were allowed to be sent to outside markets for sale. No grower was allowed to send for sale outside the scheduled district in which his onions were grown any ungraded or under-grade onions without first receiving a permit from the Department of Agriculture to do so.

The inception of the new regulations called for the co-operation of growers and merchants with the Department in regulating an industry which in the past had been subject to violent market fluctuations, causing heavy losses to both growers and merchants, continued Mr. Cockayne. When onion advisory councils were sot up the regulations would be carefully gone into and, if necessary, recommendations would be made to the Government to smooth out any minor points and advise in respect of grading and future prices.