“Unreasonable Profits” By Oyster Companies

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29829, 23 May 1962, Page 14

“Unreasonable Profits” By Oyster Companies

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, May 22. Companies controlling the oyster industry in Southland were extracting unreasonable profits, said the president of the Southland Fish Retailers’ Association (Mr D. Fairweather) today. Mr Fairweather was making submissions on behalf of the association before the Parliamentary Select Committee on the fishing industry. An Invercargill firm also claimed that it was “being crushed by the all-powerful oyster monopoly.

Mr L. E Tall, representing the firm. Tail's Fish Supply, said: “It cannot be denied that monopolies do exist which threaten the retail trade."

In a prepared statement, the association said that “an elaborate structure of interlocking companies has enabled control <of the oyster industry) to be in a few hands.

“The same people as groups of people control and exact profits from the same catch at different stages, first on the sale of the catch from the beat owner to merchant, second on the opening and distributing and third on retail sales of oysters. “The licensing of the industry was instituted for the benefit of the people of New Zealand, but we believe that its main benefit has been to a few individuals." said the statement.

The association felt that Southlanders were very oyster conscious and sales of oysters constituted a larger proportion of its members' businesses (“about half in most cases”) than anywhere else in New Zealand “There is. in our considered opinion, a tremendous unsatisfied public demand." said the association's statement.

Because of the development of the air freighting of fish north, retailers' suoplies had become less and less. “This situation has been

made worse by the fact that the wholesalers have sold to fruit shops and have supplied a hawker who has at times supplied grocery shops. These shops have sometimes had oysters when fish retailers have not. “Marketing Abuses" “The fact that oysters have become a scarce commodity and that control is in limited hands have made for abuses in marketing procedures and other matters.” said the association. As an example, the association said that some retailers employing oyster openers were told that if they did rot dismiss the oyster openers the retailers' supply of oysters would be stopped “Not content with limiting our supplies, the merchants are thus now trying to interfere with our employees. It seems to us that they are trying to break us down so they can take over the retail trade as well.” said the association. In reply to a question by

Mr G. Grieve (Awarua), Mr] Fairweather said that this move by the merchants! showed what control they: had over the retailers. “ It is straight out victimisation,” he said. Mr Fairweather said the supplies to the retailers approached by the merchants had not been stopped. "These retailers have got rid of their oyster openers. They were scared to keep them as oysters represent 50 per cent, of their trade." Speaking on the recent survey of Foveaux Strait, Mr Tall said his firm felt that at least another three licences should be issued to independent traders not connected with any of the present merchants. He asked that these licences be tagged in such a way that all of their sacked oysters must go to the retail trade. Mr F. Hackett, a member of the committee, said that the regulation already stated that existing licenses could be altered in the way Mr Tall proposed