MACHINERY OF MARKETING

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23585, 12 March 1942, Page 4

MACHINERY OF MARKETING

DELAY IN DECISION ON WINDFALL FRUIT Criticism of the marketing regulations and machinery as ineffective for dealing with an emergency was expressed yesterday by Mr P. R. Climie, organiser to the Canterbury Progress League. Mr Climie was commenting to “The Press’’ on the Government’s delay in granting the league’s request for local fruitgrowers to be given authority to sell their windfall apples without restrictions on the local market for a period of two weeks. “Events have shown that the marketing regulations are too rigid and the machinery of marketing too cumbersome to deal promptly, with an emergency,” he said. “Action had to be taken at once or not at all. It is probably now too late to do any good. “Meantime in the process of safeguarding the high price early market for Nelson and Hawke’s Bay fruit, the local growers have had to suffer losses from which some will scarcely recover and a lot of good fruit, which many people would have~been glad to have, has gone to the pigs or been allowed to rot on the ground. “It is to be hoped that the Internal Marketing Department will make some provision in anticipation of such emergencies. Prompt action in this case would probably have relieved the situation without detriment to the high grade market for fruit expected to open shortly."