THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11010, 6 July 1901, Page 4

THE PRICE OF BREAD.

WHY IS IT FOURPENCE-HALF-PENNY? THE EXPLANATION. (BY OTTK SPECIAL REPORTER.) Now that the winter is right upon us, and all the extravagances made necessary by a Royal visit and its attendant festivities are hardly over, comes the cheering announcement from the baker that "bread has risen." Thereupon i-ae thrifty housewife sends the child for two loaves, instead of one, so as to make one payment of 4£d instead of two of 2£d, and wonders somewhat indignantly what may have caused the change. The Flour Millers' Co-operative vAssociation, being a recently constituted one, is at first suspected, and she remembers its declaration in answer to a former enquiry of this paper, to the effect that it would l only regulate the price of flour with the current price of. wheat. Enquiries by a "Press" representative, however, have shown any such suspicion to be apparently unjust, and! even the baker's announcement to have been a little rashly worded. Mr Buchanan, of the New Zealand Flour Millers' Co-operative Association, to whom the pressman applied for informationj treated the matter very simply indeed. He explained that it was quite a mistake' to say that the price of bread had been raised at all. The last price fixed had been 4£d for a large loaf if bought at the shop, and 5d if taken'to tße door.' A number of smaller bakers started in business, and a number of other commenced to undersell, until there was soon a variety of prices. Supposing a baker who was accustomed to charge a customer a certain price, saw another calling upon the man every few days on the, chance -of getting the ousto'm, he would naturally lower his charge to make sure of retaining it. This sort of thing, had recently grown to such an extent, Mr Buchanan said, that within oartain limits a customer could ge.fr his bread for almost any price he liked, if he, oared ;to make fuss .enough. resuscitation of the Master Bakers' Association, which 'had been. allowed to fall through) was responsible for the present so-called increase in price. In < reality, however, its action had only been to reassert the standard price formerly fixed, and to make it general oy bringing all the' undei-eellers to agree to it. Only the men who hod previously "cut down" prices had increased them. In the case of many bakers, there had been no change of charges at all. Enquiry of two prpminent master bakers in the city immediately corroborated this statement. Th,e first of these stated that for a couple of years past he had been selling at an actual loss. The second gave ft detailed explanation of such a state of things'; There were a number of men in the trade, he said, who were , not worth the wages which employers were compelled by the Arbitration Court to give them. . Employers naturally choSe the best men when they were forced to pay high wages, and. the others had very often been obliged to set up businesses of their own. The excessive .competition among millers had aided, them in this by enabling them to get extensive credit, and the first thing they did was to visit the stores. The storekeepers, who do not "lave by bread alone," care little about its profits, explained the baker, so long as its sale will dxuw customers to their, shop, who -will also deal in other goods. The bakers starting in business were generally ready to sell to them at a reduced price, and the bread was then retailed by them ait a smaller charge on their own part. After some time thinge reached such a pass that most of the bakers were cutting at each other, and prices fell in many cases considerably below the standard. The revival of.the Master Bakers' Association fixed one minimum charge again, and made it the same as the standard price had been previous to the commencement of under selling. The profit made on the sale of a 41bloaf for 4£d at the counter, it was explained, is the 'barest possible. That made on the sale of the same loaf for sd, on delivery, is rather less. There was no doubt whatever, our representative "was informed, that bread has always been cheaper in and about Ohristchuirch, than anywhere else in the colony. At Tinraru at present it is 5d and 6d, at Akairoa 6d, at Wellington and Dunedin 5d at the counter, as against 4£d here. The competition which has led to such underselling may be understood from the fact that there are seventy master bakers in ChTistchurch and its immediate surroundings, as against about twentyseven in Dunedin, and only about twentyfive in Wellington. -

The tradesman interviewed, after showing our representative his ledger to prove that only liis counter charge had been increaeedi *£d, kandlly offered to show him in detail the exact outlay necess£<!y to produce a 41b,loaf, and to demonstrate the very minute profit attaching to its sale. The pressman, however, was satisfied without this.