‘Little change likely’ from fish freeze

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 38183, 24 March 1973, Page 1

‘Little change likely’ from fish freeze

It was unlikely that the freeze on fish prices would significantly affect the fish selling business in Canterbury, Mr M. L. Newman, the national president of the Wholesale Fish Merchants’ Association, said in Christchurch vesterdav.

Mr Newman said it was not certain yet just how the Government intended applying the freeze, but it seemed that it would be imposed at the retail level. This meant that retailers would be unlikely to pay more for fish at auction than they would be allowed to sell it for in their shops. In any case, retailers in Canterbury (worked on a relatively fixed -selling price, he said. I Most of New Zealand outjside Canterbury, was already working on fixed prices and there the freeze would make little difference in the short run, said Mr Newman. A SPECIAL CASE Christchurch is the only centre in New Zealand which sells fish to retailers by auction, and according to the president of the Christchurch Fish Retailers’ Association (Mr B. E. Mather) most retailers want to keen the sys-

“But bow can you freeze prices with an auction system?” Mr Maher asked. He said that Canterbury prices were low compared with the rest of the country s so in practice a freeze would v be unlikely to affect local re- ’ tailers. 11 CENTRAL MARKET y| Next week Christchurch y retailers and the chairman of d the Fishing Industry Board j(Mr J. S. Campbell) would .-.discuss proposals for a new yI central fish market, where d the city’s entire fish supply e would be auctioned on one 11 floor, said Mr Mather. A backer was prepared to 'provide finance for the project, which might cost beI tween $250,000 and $500,000. I Mr Mather said that one ' market would provide a bete ter service than the present T system — three wholesalers, I I with one running an auction ' and the other two adjusting ' their prices to that. Mr Mather said also that he thought too much fish was being exported, w’hich raised fish prices on the local mar-

eket and also increased the ;-! demand for meat. y|