DIRECT SALES OF PRODUCE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24882, 23 May 1946, Page 6

DIRECT SALES OF PRODUCE

MORE DEPOTS TO BE OPENED Vegetable producers report that they had another successful day yesterday, in hawking produce, and selling for the first time from open-air depots A representative of the organisation said last evening that had the weather been fine, the turnover would have been much greater. As it was the sales were four times as great as on Tuesday. Further depots will be opened to-day, and it is proposed to carry on selling produce bv hawking and from the depots, as long as the dispute in Auckland and Wellington continues. Auctioneers again sold produce as directed by individual growers yesterday, some of whom did not ask for the container charge. Retailers refused to bid for fruit or vegetables in cases for which a container charge was asked, but bought produce sold loose or in cases on which there was no charge.

FARMERS SUPPORT GROWERS EFFORTS TO OBTAIN ARBITRATION •A unanimous decision to support the growers in their efforts to obtain arbitration in the container dispute was made yesterday by the North Canterbury provincial executive of Federated Fanners of New Zealand. Mr M. M. Montgomery, representing the market gardeners, waited on the meeting and outlined, in committee, events! leading up to the dispute. He sought the support of the executive in action taken by the growers. After the position had been discussed by the meeting, Jt was decided to accede to the growers’ request, provided that action taken by the executive was approved by Dominion headquarters.

WELLINGTON SHOPS WELL STOCKED

RETAILERS OBTAIN SUPPLIES

(FA.) WELLINGTON, May 22. Retail vegetable shops in Wellington will be plentifully supplied with produce at the week-end. according to the secretary of the Wellington Provincial Fruit Retailers’ Association (Mr L. S. D. Chanwai). “The public can be assured that vegetables of all sorts will be on offer. We got three railway waggon loads to-day and several thousand packages will arrive to-mor-row,” he said. There was no change to report in the position between retailers and growers over the container charge, he added.

Growers continued the perfection of their organisation for street selling. To-day. always an off day in the Wellington markets, there was little offering in green vegetables. Street depots disposed of their supplies by early afternoon. To-morrow, normally the market’s biggest day of the week, supplies will be much bigger. There will be no shortage for the depots for the two remaining days’ trading before the week-end.

It was alleged by Mr E. T. Bartosch, a member of the executive of the Dominion Council of Commercial Gardeners. that he had ascertained at the source of supply in Palmerston North, from which retailers were obtaining supplies, that the container charge was being paid to get them. When this was referred to Mr Chanwai for comment he said the retailers had no intention of revealing the source of their supplies., but he would definitely deny that any container charge had been paid in getting them.