GROWERS’ PLANS FOR SALES

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25732, 18 February 1949, Page 8

GROWERS’ PLANS FOR SALES

STREET STANDS IN WELLINGTON GREENGROCERS’ STOCKS DWINDLING (P.A.) WELLINGTON. February 17. Fresh vegetables and smaller quantities of fruit than the markets usually offer fwill be sold in Wellington tomorrow on a competitive basis between growers and retailers. The growers, whose produce has been boycotted by the retailers because of the container charge dispute, will sell from trucks in three city stands. The retailersr. in spite of dwindling stocks, expect to be able to supply their customers with fresh vegetables to-mor-row. If the boycott continues, the retailers are likely to be without fresh vegetables on Monday. The growers plan to extend their sales to suburban areas. Mr B. V. Cooksley, president of the Commercial Growers of New Zealand said that the president of a women’s organisation in Lower Hutt had offered to arrange for women to operate stands when they could be set up there. Mr Cooksley said the growers were united in their action. Steps would be taken to ensure that attempts were not made by retailers to buy direct from any grower without paying container charges. His organisation would also see that produce was not diverted to retailers instead of to the markets and the growers’ stands. The growers say that they will operate their stands as long as the boy-, cott continues. To-day they launched an advertising campaign.- The retailers. on the other hand, are determined not to buy any produce with container charges added. Protest Against Stands The secretary of the Retail Fruiterers and Greengrocers’ Association (Mr S. Chesney) said he would lodge a protest with the Health Department on the ground that the sale of produce from open trucks would be a breach of the regulations. Mr Chesney said he had been in communication by telephone with the national president of the Retailers’ Federation (Mr I. B. Junkers, of Auckland), who had told him that Auckland growers were showing a ten-' dency to weaken. According to this advice, growers in Ohakune had instructed their Auckland brokers to sell without container charges. It was possible, Mt Chesney said, that Wellington might be supplied with container<free produce through Auckland next week. The general manager of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation (Mr A. Osborne), in a statement to-night, said the results of sales at the markets to-day were most satisfactory, particularly from the point of view of housewives’ support. Reports from Auckland and Christchurch had indicated that similar support had been given there. Mr Osborne said it was ridiculous for the retail trade to maintain that it could not recover the cost of containers in its retail selling price. He added that the cost had been allowed for in the past under ceiling prices, and, as ceiling prices did not now apply it was evident that retailers still had no bar to the recovery of these charges. Mr Osborne said that fruit-growers would oppose strenuously any attempt by the retail trade to prevent housewives from obtaining their full requirements of fresh fruit.