FRUIT, VEGETABLE PRICES Up to 400p.c. difference between market and retail

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33928, 22 August 1975, Page 8

FRUIT, VEGETABLE PRICES Up to 400p.c. difference between market and retail

(By

TERRY McGOVERNE)

The retail fruit and vegetable trade in Christchurch was a little restless this week after claims that some consumers were being “fleeced” by being forced to pay high prices for apples.

Buyers at the markets looked askance at the presence of a representative of “The Press,” and one demanded that the newspaper ac-| curately report what he; had just paid for a ibunch of parsley. It was $2 a bunch. He told me that complaints he had heard indicated that “The Press" was not accurately reporting the prices of fruit and vegetables, and said that some retailers were being put on the spot by customers who had tackled them about the difference between the prices reported in “The Press” and those which the retailer was charging.

During the last two months “The Press” has reported the market price of fruit and vegetables so|d mainly at the floor of MacFarlane and Growers, Ltd, . which sells by auction about [7O per cent of all the produce offered in Christchurch.

By and large, prices paid at Market Gardeners, Ltd, which sells the balance, have been ignored. That market prefers not to disclose the prices on the ground that such information has led to friction between growers and retailers. The company also claims that the information has so often been misreported in the past that it has no confidence in disclosing its prices. The company also claims that the way “The Press” has been reporting the prices lately “means nothing” to the housewife. One

senior staff member at Market Gardeners, Ltd, claims that it is,no business of the public what retailers pay for fruit and vegetables at the markets.

Shop around “The Press” has been at pains in r.ecent weeks to pcfint out to people that prices at the markets can change from day to day and that the produce sold on Thursday could have cost more, or less, than what it cost on Wednesday. Indeed, prices can fluctuate very quickly, and yesterday was a case in point. A line , of carrots grown at Marshland sold for $7.30 for a 401 b case. Less than an hour later another consignment of carrots reached the floor and sold fo r under $4 for a similar quantity. That is why “The Press”

has urged housewives to shop around before making their- purchases. The variations in price at retail level are difficult to follow. The writer has seen carrots at one shop selling for 24c per lb and at a shop a few doors down the street at 10c per lb, against the market price of 5c per lb for the previous week.

One reason lor the difference is that many retailers rely on commission buyers to procure their produce for them. The commission operator buys at the market then sells the goods to the retailer at his own price. And where the difference between the market and retail price is as high as 400 per cent, there is ample justification for apple growers and anyone else to complain' that the public is being fleeced. The housewife will have to be her own watchdog on prices. There are hundreds of outlets for fruit and vegetables in Christchurch, and it is fair to say that while the bulk of retailers are satisfied with a reasonable mark-up, the combination of the commission buyer and the small-time dairy operator who knows nothing about the fruit and vegetable industry or how to preserve or present the produce, carl be harmful to everyone.

One might be hard-pressed in justifiably denying 18c per lb to a grower,who went into his paddock last Wednesday to dig carrots by hand.

One grower told me that he was almost weeping with cold while he dug the carrots. Does the commission agent who handled the carrots for a couple of hours expect the same return as that grower? What will 1 e the price retail of those carrots? The market floor was not, surprisingly, lacking in produce yesterday, which is always the busiest day of the week. Cabbages brought from the North Island sold for 25c to 30c each, cauliflowers from 19c to 43c each, and brussels sprouts from 28c to 33c per lb. Tomatoes, also from the North Island, brought $1.20 to $l.BO per kg, parsley from 25c to $2 a bunch, spring onions from $2 to $2.50 a dozen. Locally grown peppers sold for $3.10 per lb and island peppers for $2.80 per lb. Lettuce $1

People fond of Indian .dishes should be able to find [the ingredients from shops [owned by members of the [lndian community who paid [9oc per lb for egg plants, $3 per lb for chillis, 80c a bundle for drum sticks (beans), 90c per lb for pigeon peas, 85c per lb for bhindi beans, 70c per lb for cow peas and $1.55 per lb for guar (cluster) beans. Pumpkin, one of the low-est-priced vegetables, improved this week and sold at about 6c per lb. Glasshouse lettuces sold for $1 each, and outdoor lettuces for 25c to 40c each.