Chch not hit by fish rise

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34087, 26 February 1976, Page 1

Chch not hit by fish rise

Retail fish prices in Christchurch should not change much tomorrow, when the people in the rest of New Zealand will have to pay between 4c and 15c per lb extra.

It is expected, however, that Christchurch prices will increase in line with other centres later.

The new prices were announced by the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Adams-Schneider) on Monday. It is the first price adjustment for popular species of fish since May, 1974. The price-freeze regulations, which had applied since then, never really affected the Christchurch market, the! only place in the countryj where fish is sold by auction, i The auction system also prevents the increases being! applied as it would be else- • where.

The general manager of the Fishing Industry Board, Mr J. Campbell, said yesterday that the Christchurch auction system would be used as before and, although there

would be no immediate increase as in other centres, prices would inevitably bear some relation to those in other areas. Because of the flow of fish from area to area, Christchurch prices could well increase in line with the others but it was not possible to say how soon or how much the increase would be, he said.

Mr Campbell said the Christchurch system had always worked well in ensuring that prices were kept at a fair level and he said the Christchurch merchants had done well in running the auction system so successfully.