Pea-contract survey

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32660, 16 July 1971, Page 3

Pea-contract survey

(N.Z. Press Association) NELSON, July 15. The Unilever factory at Motueka had made contracts for only SO per cent of its required process pea crop in the face of concerted grower opposition, the chairman of the Nelson Process Growers’ Association (Mr B. M. S. Smith) said today.

The factory had previously signed contracts for about 1500 acres, he said, and this year had indicated that it would require 1600. At a meeting on Tuesday, 89 of the 100 growers in the

[district held a secret ballot, land only four said they had signed contracts to grow process peas. Mr Smith said that the grower opposition was directed at establishing the principle of negotiation of prices, and not just at gaining an increased price for the coming crop. So many statements and counter-statements had been made by both sides recently that the issue was now confused, he said. The Federation of Vegetable and Produce Growers had therefore engaged a research firm to survey growers and possible growers in the Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury pea-growing districts. They would be asked whether they had grown pro-

cess peas before, whether they had signed contracts this season, whether they would sign contracts if the price was increased, and whether they were interested in growing peas.

The results would be collated and should be available next Tuesday, said Mr Smith. The effort of the process growers to obtain what they believed was a more equitable method of establishing contract prices would depend on a concerted effort by growers.

A few would sign contracts in spite of the association’s efforts to improve their return?, but he expected the majority of growers to stand by the federation’s effort to establish the principle of negotiation.