MILK ROUND SALES

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29051, 13 November 1959, Page 15

MILK ROUND SALES

Waiting List Abolished

The. waiting list of 144 applicants for delivery rounds was abolished by the Christchurch Milk Board at its meeting on Wednesday. The board’s action followed a report by the supervising officer (Mr A. P. Millthorpe) that at the present rate of allocation it would take 72 years to clear the list.

Applicants on> the list will be advised of a new procedure for the disposal of rounds as they become available with rezoning and sales to the board. They will all be sent a circular letter. The board intends that in future applications*should be invited in newspaper advertisements each time a round has to be disposed of. “Applicants will be checked and interviewed by the board’s officers, who will select those most satisfactory to appear before the board, which will make the final selection.” the board decided. “The list of applicants for milk rounds has been under consideration for some time and dissatisfaction with the present method has been expressed by both the vendors’ association and the committee of' supply, as well as individual’board members,” said the supervising officer in a report. Present Policy “With the board’s present zoning policy, which is aimed at increasing all vendors on low gallonage to an economic level, thus preserving the owner-opera-tor principle, any rounds offered for sale are, where possible, used to increase surrounding vendors in need of extra gallonage. “In accordance with this policy only three applicants on the ‘waiting list’ have been settled in rounds during the last 18 months and these are rounds which owing to their geographic situation were unable to be broken up. «> “With a total of 144 applicants waiting for rounds, at this rate it would be 72 years before the present list was satisfied. “It has been most noticeable over the last 18 months that vendors are not offering their rounds for sale but are content to lease them out at, in one ease of a round of’ 105 gallons retail at an estimated return of £550, and it is felt that the New Zealand Milk Board’s attention should be drawn to a system of margins which allows a so-called economic round to provide such excessive gross return,” Mr Millthorpe reported. “Someone can put down the name of his grandchild and have some hope of getting a round for him,” said the chairman (Mr E. R. Stead). Mr G. A. Franks said the waiting list system had broken down but it might be improved ratb.er than replaced with another system. “It could lead to a certain amount of blackmarketing.” he said. “How could that be?” asked Mr W. J. Cowles. “Under the present system the board buys all rounds and sells them and no-one knows who is going to get them,” he said. Many of the 144 waiting list applicants had probably got tired and had made other arrangements, he added.

The board adopted the supervising officer’s recommendations of new procedure except that successful applicants be required to pay a bond of £lOO, which would be repayable • only after three months’ satisfactory service. This recommendation was rejected.