New price scheme on Monday

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33917, 9 August 1975, Page 3

New price scheme on Monday

(Neiv Zealand Press ' Association) HAMILTON, August 8. The Government will give details on Monday of a revamped maximum retail price scheme which will set a ceiling price on hundreds of grocery items.

“The scheme will mean that people will know the maximum price that can be charged for any item by lany store—it will mean That price increases cannot be applied to old stock,” said the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer). Details of the scheme would be given to a meeting of grocery manufacturers in Wellington on Monday. The public announcement would be made afterwards. The original scheme virtually collapsed soon after it I was launched a year ago,

amid an unprecedentec inflationary surge. But Mr Freer is confident that the new scheme will work. A number of companies were already co-oper-ating voluntarily with the scheme, but opposition was expected from some manufacturers, he said.* There has been speculation in political circles that the new scheme will be compulsory, in that all food fines must carry an M.R.F, shield. The shields may be selfsticking labels, to overcome complaints by some manufacturers about the printing problems which would be involved with every price change.

11 A last-minute effort to' [dissuade the Government is. (expected. Eight grocery! ( manufacturers and an officer! .(of the Grocery Manufac-i . iturers’ Association (Mr M.i . F. Dawson) will meet Mr ; Freer on Monday. Mr Dawson said yesterday, that he was not optimistic that an agreement would be reached with the Minister if | , the new scheme was anyI thing like the present one. [' “We will be going hot and ' strong to have the scheme dropped.” he said. Thel ( scheme was not practical, and would cause confusion! ( among consumers.” [ Government sources said) j today that there was considerable support within the' Labour Party for the reintroduction of the scheme. The failure of the initial! scheme was a political em-1 barrassment to the party, I which had promised in 1972' to hold retail costs and| avoid consumer exploitation. |