Tea Prices May Have To Rise

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31576, 13 January 1968, Page 12

Tea Prices May Have To Rise

(By Our Grocery Reporter) Many traders say they were extremely busy for the last two or three days just before the Christmas week-end.

The city is still full of visitors and this could help to give the trade the necessary boost, as normally the trend is for less spending from now until the end of this month. Housewives are now starting to concentrate on jam making and preserving for winter. Strawberries in particular have ben readily available, and in some parts of the South Island strawberries were a glut. Good supplies of sugar, jars, and other necessary items are available, so everything should run smoothly for the preserving season. At the last auction for 1967 in Ceylon, tea prices showed a further increase. These increases have been continuing steadily, and now the buyers are faced with buying tea at considerably higher prices than a few months ago. This last increase was about Id to 2d a pound for general varieties. and it is felt that if no decreases are recorded early this year local brands of tea will Increase in price. Cod Fillets.— Pacific deep ;moked cod fillets in 14oz .cans lave been so popular that they lave been scarce for some time, the factory output has now >een greatly increased and all nerchants will receive 50 per ■ent of their orders carried forvard from last year. This iniial distribution will be beween January and March, and he remainder of the initial ordrs should be available by May his vear. The retail price is exacted to be 39c a can. Egg Preserver. — Today egg □reserving is not being done to the extent of a number of years ago, and sales of egg preservers have perhaps dropped. One of the largest selling egg preservers on the Christchurch market is Nortons, which has been produced in Lyttelton by several generations of the Norton family. In future this will be produced by A. C. Nottingham, Ltd, which has depots throughout New Zealand. Siamese Rice.— Quotations are now coming through for this season's crop of Siamese rice. Very little Siamese rice was seen on the New Zealand market last year and this may have been mainly because of shipping problems and shortage of supplies. Prices are up, of course, because of the devalu-

ation of the New Zealand dollar and also the increased cost of shipping. Siamese rice is perhaps the best of the longgrain rice, but over the last year or two the American varieties have taken the largest share of the New Zealand market. Rice, was delicensed before Christmas and consumers can expect a good range of prices to choose from this year. Australian Evaporated Tree Fruits.— The news regarding Australian dried apricots is still not good, but as harvesting has not yet commenced there is little information regarding quality and total quantities. No orders are being accepted and at this stage it would appear that buyers will receive 50 per cent of their 1967 purchases. It seems likely that because of shortages, higher prices will be quoted, and this, with devaluation, means that housewifes will have to pay considerably more than last year.